Feb. 8 (UPI) — Hamas militants released three frail Israel hostages in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners, some also emaciated, on Saturday.
After the fifth handoff since the cease-fire on Jan. 25, Hamas has now released 16 Israeli hostages as part of the first phase of the cease-fire agreement. Eight of the 33 promised hostages are dead, according to the Israeli government.
Ohad Ben Ami, 56; Eli Sharabi, 52; and Or Levy, 34, were taken hostage during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Ben Ami and Sharabi were captured from their homes in Kibbutz Be’eri, about 2.5 miles from the Gaza border, and Levy, 34, was attending the Nova music festival near kibbutz Re’im when he was kidnapped.
They were handed to the Red Cross in the central city of Deir al-Balah on day 491 of their captivity in Gaza. Israel Defense Forces in Gaza transferred them back to Israel for an initial medical assessment before being reunited with their families.
Supporters, waving flags and holding placards, lined the route near the base close to Re’im.
The three men were thin and pale when they were led onto a makeshift stage.
Many of the freed prisoners were in poor health. Israel has said it would release up to 1,904 Palestinian prisoners, including 737 serving life terms for dozens of murders.
The Israeli government said the “shocking” condition of the freed hostages “would not go unaddressed. Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum said their appearances were “disturbing.”
“Seeing the three hostages this morning as if they had been liberated from World War II concentration camps should compel us all to accelerate the release of all hostages,” Gershon Baskin, an Israeli hostage negotiator, said in a statement.
Ben Ami’s wife, Raz Ben Ami, was freed during a short-lived truce in November 2023.
Michal Cohen, the mother of Ben Ami, told Channel 12 that “he looks terrible. He is 57, but he looks 10 years older. It is so sad for me to see him like this.”
“He looks terrible. He is 57, but he looks ten years older. It is so sad for me to see him like this,” she told Channel 12 news.
Family members of the two other hostages had died.
Sharabi’s wife and daughters were killed in the attack, and his brother Yossi Sharabi was taken captive and he died as his body remains there, according to the Israeli military. Sharabi’s mother and sister told him his wife died.
Levy’s wife also was murdered, and wasn’t clear if he knew about her.
Hamas and its allies still hold a total of 73 people of 251 initially taken.
Militants killed more than 1,200 people during the October 7, 2023 attack. Then Israel struck Gaza, killing more than 45,000 people, according to Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
The Gaza cease-fire expires on March 1.
The second stage of the multi-phase agreement would secure the release of around 60 male hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
