Four hostages abducted from the Nova music festival and held by militants in Gaza for the last eight months were rescued by Israeli forces on Saturday.

Here is what we know about the four hostages who were brought back to Israel.

Noa Argamani

Noa Argamani, 26, was taken hostage in the October 7 attack alongside her boyfriend, Avinatan Or. Viral footage showed Argamani being taken into Gaza on the back of a motorcycle as she cried out in desperation.

Argamani and her boyfriend were abducted from the Nova music festival in southern Israel, where militants carried out brutal atrocities against partygoers. The plight of Argamani received outsized attention, in part because her mother, Liora, is suffering from brain cancer and her condition has deteriorated significantly in recent months.

Andrey Kozlov

Andrey Kozlov, 27, was working as a security guard at the music festival when he was taken. He recently emigraed to Israel from Russia and was a resident of Rishon Lezion, central Israel.

In January, Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian deputy foreign minister, told Hamas officials that the release of civilians captured in the October 7 attack should be speeded up, according to a statement from the Russian foreign ministry.

Almog Meir Jan

Almog Meir Jan, 22, was kidnapped a day before he was supposed to start a new job at a technology company, according to the Hostage Families Forum.

In December, Sky News aired an interview with his mother, Orit, who said that her son had called her on October 7 at 7:45am and described the chaotic scenes unfolding at the festival site. On Saturday, footage of Meir Jan’s family celebrating the news of his freedom was shared on social media. “I’m so excited,” his mother said.

Shlomi Ziv

Shlomi Ziv, 41, was working as a security guard at the festival. He is a resident of Elkosh, a community in northern Israel, where he lived with his wife, Miran, according to the Hostage Families Forum.

“We will be receiving a person who we don’t know what he saw, what he experienced, what he knows and what he doesn’t know,” Ziv said. “This won’t be simple.”

New York Times News Service