Hamas Releases Three More Israeli Hostages as Ceasefire Continues to Hold

The three men, all appearing frail and gaunt, were made to give speeches thanking the Hamas militants who had held them captive for more than 16 months in Gaza. All three — Eli Sharabi, 52; Or Levy, 34; and Ohad Ben Ami, 56 — were being taken to hospitals, where they were being reunited with loved ones. The images of the men, surrounded by rifle-toting captors, were broadcast live, and Israeli joy turned to dismay for many at seeing their conditions. “The Israeli hostages look like Holocaust survivors,” wrote Gideon Saar, the foreign minister.

Hamas-led militants released three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli hostages and Israel freed nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners Saturday in the latest exchange of a ceasefire agreement that has paused 16 months of war in Gaza. The hostages’ condition and scenes of Hamas forcing them to speak in a handover ceremony sparked outrage in Israel and could increase pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend the ceasefire beyond its current six-week phase. Netanyahu has signaled he would resume the war, even if that meant leaving dozens of hostages in Hamas captivity.

The hostages, as with others before them, were forcibly paraded onto a stage and made to take part in a ceremony with their captors. Israeli leaders noted that the three men looked thin and exhausted. "This is what a crime against humanity looks like! The whole world must look directly at Ohad, Or, and Eli—returning after 491 days of hell, starved, emaciated and pained—being exploited in a cynical and cruel spectacle by vile murderers," Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote in a post on X. The Hostages and Missing Families forum wrote that "The disturbing images from the release of Ohad, Eli, and Or serve as yet another stark and painful evidence that leaves no room for doubt - there is no time to waste for the hostages!"