how many hostages did biden get released from gaza

Biden was credited with helping secure the release of about 138 hostages from Gaza through U.S.-backed ceasefire and exchange deals during his term.

Quick Number

• November 2023 Qatar–Egypt–U.S.-brokered pause: about 105 hostages were released from Gaza under a deal Washington helped mediate.

• Second U.S.-backed deal first outlined by Biden and implemented in January 2025: about 33 additional hostages (including some whose bodies were returned) were released.

• Put together, fact-checkers and officials describe 138 hostages as the total linked to agreements negotiated during Biden’s presidency.

Context in Simple Terms

• Hamas took around 250 hostages in the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, and various rounds of talks, pressure and military action have slowly changed that number.

• The U.S. under Biden worked with Qatar and Egypt to push through the November 2023 pause, which became the first major swap: hostages in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

• A later framework Biden promoted in 2024 only fully kicked in near the end of his term, with the main wave of releases coming in January 2025 but still counted as having been secured by his negotiations.

Why Different Numbers Circulate

• Online posts and forum debates often round this to “about 140 hostages,” which is why figures like 135–140 appear in memes or comment threads.

• Some people also argue over how to count hostages whose remains were returned, or how to split credit between Biden and Trump for releases that occurred after Biden left office but came from deals he initially proposed.

TL;DR: Public tallies and fact-checks attribute roughly 138 hostages released from Gaza to ceasefire and exchange deals negotiated during Biden’s presidency, which many people online shorthand as “about 140.”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.