CNN
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Three male Israeli hostages and 183 Palestinian prisoners were freed in the fifth round of exchanges between Israel and Hamas Saturday as Israel expressed concern about the appearance of the released captives.
Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi, and Or Levy – all taken hostage during the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel – were handed to the Red Cross in the central city of Deir al-Balah on day 491 of their captivity in Gaza. While the transfer was orderly – in contrast to chaotic scenes surrounding the release of Israeli and Thai hostages in Gaza last week – the three appeared thin and pale when they were led onto a makeshift stage.
Israel later released all 183 Palestinian prisoners due to be freed on Saturday. Many of them appeared emaciated and in poor health.
On stage and surrounded by Hamas militants, Ami and Sharabi, who were dressed in brown, and Levy, who was dressed in green, delivered speeches in Hebrew. They were then led to three Red Cross vehicles waiting to take them back to Israel.
The Red Cross then passed the hostages to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza, who transferred them back to Israel, where they underwent an initial medical assessment before being reunited with their families.
The images during Saturday’s hostage handover have drawn condemnation from Israel. Levy – who was released as he was considered a humanitarian case – appeared particularly frail.
The Israeli government described the scenes as “shocking” and said they “would not go unaddressed,” while Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the freed hostages’ appearances were “disturbing.”
Levy – who was released as he was considered a humanitarian case – appeared particularly frail.
A veteran Israeli negotiator turned peace activist said Saturday that the gaunt condition of three Israelis would remind many Israelis of Nazi concentration camp survivors.
“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 said in a statement.
The mother of Matan Zangauker, a 25-year-old still held in Gaza derided Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for extending his trip to Washington and not doing more to free her son.
“The three who returned today are Holocaust survivors,” Einav Zangauker, mother of Matan Zangauker, said in an impassioned video. “My Matan is going through a Holocaust!”
Ben Ami, 56, and Sharabi, 52, were both taken from their homes in Kibbutz Be’eri, about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the Gaza border.
Ben Ami’s wife, Raz Ben Ami, also taken captive that day, was freed during a short-lived truce in November 2023.
Sharabi’s wife and daughters were killed in the October 7 attack, according to the kibbutz. It is unclear if he knows they are dead. His brother Yossi Sharabi, who was taken captive, died in Gaza, where his body remains, according to the Israeli military.
Levy, 34, was attending the Nova music festival on October 7 when he was kidnapped. His wife Eynav was killed in the attack. Levy also has a three-year-old son who he’ll be reunited with on his return to Israel.
Hamas has now released a total of 16 Israeli hostages as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, of a total of 33 promised at staggered intervals during this stage. Eight of those 33 are dead, according to the Israeli government.
Following the release of the three hostages on Saturday, Hamas and its allies still hold a total of 73 people taken from Israel on October 7, 2023, of 251 initially taken. Three additional hostages, held captive since 2014, are still in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel freed 183 Palestinians Saturday. Some of the released prisoners were brought from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank to Ramallah, where video of their release showed some detainees weak and thin, with one man appearing so weak that he needed to be carried.
The Israeli prison system has come under fire for intentionally reducing food servings to Palestinian prisoners in what’s been described as the minimum required for survival, on the orders of then-National Security Minister Ben Gvir last year.
In comments made in April 2024, Gvir said that Palestinian prisoners “should be killed with a shot to the head,” and called for a bill to allow for executions to be passed in the Israeli Knesset. “Until then, we will give them minimal food to survive. I do not care about this,” he said. In October, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that conditions in the notorious Sde Teiman detention center must comply with Israeli law. CNN has reached out to Israel’s prison system for comment.
Eighteen of the Palestinian prisoners released Saturday were serving life sentences, while 54 had lesser sentences and 111 were detained in Gaza after October 7, Hamas said in a statement. The charges against the 111 were not clear.
Palestinian militants killed more than 1,200 people during the October 7, 2023 attack. Israeli bombardment of Gaza since then has killed more than 45,000 people, reduced much of the enclave to rubble, and led to a humanitarian catastrophe for surviving residents. The war has spilled over into the wider region, putting Israel in conflict with key Hamas backer Iran, as well as Tehran proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
Uncertainty looms over the future of the ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas. Negotiations on extending the Gaza ceasefire – which expires on March 1 – are in doubt.
Netanyahu has been deeply wary of phase two of that deal, which would see the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the return of the remaining hostages there. His finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has pledged to quit the government if the ceasefire continues.
Fueling more uncertainty, in remarkable comments on Tuesday evening, US President Donald Trump proposed that the US “take over” Gaza, relocate its residents to neighboring countries, and redevelop the war-torn enclave. His comments were welcomed by Israeli far-right ministers and condemned by Hamas.
His comments drew international condemnation, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stressing that Palestinians “must be allowed home” and France’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs reiterating “its opposition to any forced displacement.”
A Hamas official slammed Trump’s proposal as a “recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region.”
“Our people in the Gaza Strip will not allow these plans to pass, and what is required is to end the occupation and aggression against our people, not expel them from their land,” Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said.
This story has been updated.
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