Three Gaunt-Looking Israelis Freed By Hamas After "491 Days Of Hell"

At this point the Hamas-Israel truce has held since January 19, and several successful rounds of hostage/prisoner exchanges have followed since. The latest happened Saturday, with Hamas releasing three more Israeli hostages captured on Oct.7, 2023 - in exchange for another 183 imprisoned Palestinians released by Israel.

This brings the total freed since the ceasefire took effect last month to 21 people freed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad - 16 of them Israelis and five Thai citizens who had been workers in the Kibbutz which were attacked. This is still part of the first, 42-day phase of the agreement.

The three Israelis released Saturday have been identified as Eli Sharabi, 52, Ohad Ben Ami, 56, and Or Levy, 34. They were paraded on a stage in the town of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza to sign handover documents.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office described the scene of the emaciated hostages "shocking" and vowed that the government would take action against Hamas.

"The shocking images we saw today will not pass without response," the statement reads. "The government, together with security officials, will support them and their families. Israel is committed to bringing back all the hostages and missing."

According to a description via NBC:

The freed captives looked gaunt as they were paraded on stage by Hamas just before the were transferred into the custody of the Red Cross, and they were also interviewed on stage by one of the fighters.

Netanyahu has “instructed to now allow the situation to go unaddressed,” a statement from his office said, without giving further details. 

Israel's President Isaac Herzog said in separate statement the hostages were “being exploited in a cynical and cruel spectacle,” after suffering "491 days of hell."

But Gaza officials also pointed to the emaciated condition of some of the freed Palestinians:

Seven of the Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel today have been taken to hospital due to “their poor health condition,” according to the Red Crescent.

Hamas said yesterday that 183 would be freed today. A group were taken to the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank earlier today. But it is unclear how many were freed.

The released prisoners were let go by a bus in Ramallah, to large crowds and jubilation as they were reunited with their families.

Palestinians say there were abused in Israeli jails and right up until release:

"Dr. Hagar Mizrahi, the head of the medical division in the Israeli Health Ministry, reported that the three hostages who returned to Israel today are malnourished and have lost significant weight during their time in captivity," NBC added.