Three Israeli hostages appeared pale and gaunt as they were paraded by Hamas in front of crowds and cameras in Gaza before their release Saturday, a scene Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as “shocking.”
Ohad Ben Ami, Or Levy and Eli Sharabi, Israeli men aged from 34 to 56, were escorted to a stage and prodded to wave and address crowds in Gaza’s Deir al-Balah neighborhood as Hamas fighters and onlookers cheered. They were then transferred to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and taken to Israel.
The men, who had been held captive in Gaza for more than 16 months, were exchanged for 183 Palestinian prisoners in the fifth round of releases under the current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Their conditions shocked the Israelis who gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square to watch a broadcast of the exchange. “This is what a crime against humanity looks like!” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a statement. He called the event at which Hamas presented the men “a cynical and cruel spectacle.”
Netanyahu vowed “the shocking scenes we witnessed today will not be ignored,” his office said. Later, he reiterated: “We will eliminate Hamas and bring our hostages home.”
Ben Ami, Levy and Sharabi were abducted by Hamas fighters on Oct. 7, 2023, when militants stormed Israeli communities, killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 more as hostages. Ben Ami and Sharabi were residents of Kibbutz Beeri. Levy was abducted from the Nova music festival.
Their conditions contrasted starkly with those of the mostly female hostages released in previous exchanges during the first phase of the ceasefire deal. Those Israelis appeared more alert, generally in good physical health and without signs of dramatic weight loss. The men released Saturday appeared dazed, their faces wan and cheeks concave.
For some, the images add greater urgency to continuing on to future ceasefire phases and bringing remaining hostages home.
“These disturbing images show the entire world the desperate reality facing every hostage still held in Gaza,” said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an umbrella organization that represents most of the hostages’ families. “There can be no more delays — a second stage of the hostage deal must be implemented immediately!”
The mood at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday was muted, relative to previous exchanges. “We are happy and sad together,” said Sigal Mizrahi, 56, who came to mark the day with her husband. Both are computer programmers.
“The last hostages looked much better, and this time it looked sad, very sad,” said Noam Mizrahi, 55. “It looks like they were starving there.” The couple said they were reminded of images of Holocaust survivors liberated from concentration camps in World War II. Israeli officials and local media made similar connections.
The current ceasefire went into effect in January, and it’s unclear how long it will hold. Some hostages are being held for release during a second phase, which will require complex negotiations.
Adding to the uncertainty is President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the United States “take over” the Gaza Strip, displacing the Palestinians currently in Gaza. The plan has drawn sharp backlash from allies and stakeholders in the region but has been welcomed by right-wing extremists inside Israel.
Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday. One busload of people was released in Ramallah in the West Bank to jubilant well-wishers. Friends and family greeted prisoners with tearful embraces. Some cheered, others hoisted prisoners above the crowds. Similar scenes unfolded in Gaza, where dozens of prisoners were released at the European Hospital.
Buses carrying released Palestinian prisoners were met by cheering crowds in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Feb. 8. (Video: Reuters)
One hundred eleven of the Palestinians released Saturday were detained in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces after Oct. 7, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said. Many of those released had been serving life sentences.
Hamas defended its treatment of Israeli hostages. “The world today witnesses the stark difference between the humane and ethical treatment by [Hamas fighters] toward enemy prisoners, compared to the repressive and brutal treatment of our prisoners,” the group said.
Seven of the Palestinians released Saturday had to be immediately transferred to hospitals, Hamas said, underscoring what the group called “systematic abuse” in Israeli detention facilities. Many Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli custody under the ceasefire have appeared malnourished. Rights groups say harsh treatment and abuse of Palestinians in Israeli prisons are rampant.
The Israel Prison Service denies claims of prisoner mistreatment. “All prisoners are detained according to the law” and “all basic rights required are fully applied by professionally trained prison guards,” the agency has said.
Israel approved the ceasefire with Hamas on Jan. 17. During the first phase, to last six weeks, 33 hostages are to be released from Gaza in exchange for more than 730 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Sixteen Israeli hostages have been released so far.
Israel responded to the Oct. 7 attack with a military campaign that has killed more than 48,000 people in Gaza, according to the local Ministry of Health and expanded to include hostilities in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and the West Bank.
Hamas appeared to exert greater control over the hostage release Saturday than in previous rounds. Militant fighters in black with green headbands stood in neat rows to control crowds. Banners above the stage proclaimed “We are the flood.” Hamas calls the Oct. 7 attack the Al-Aqsa Flood.
The crowds also appeared smaller and less rowdy than for previous releases, when scenes of chaos drew sharp criticism from Israel, which in one case briefly delayed the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Nonetheless, after Saturday’s exchange, the Red Cross said it was “increasingly concerned about the conditions surrounding release operations.” The organization called for further releases to be conducted in private and in a “dignified” manner.
Germany also condemned the staging of the release. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called it “intolerable.”
Red Cross teams transported the Israeli hostages from Hamas custody in Deir al-Balah to Israeli territory, where they were met by the Israel Defense Forces and reunited with their families. The hostages and their families were then airlifted to a hospital outside Tel Aviv.
Ben Ami, 56, was abducted by Hamas with his wife from Kibbutz Beeri. She was released during a one-week ceasefire in November 2023.
Levy, 34, was attending the Nova music festival with his wife. Einav Levy was killed at the festival. Or Levy was taken by Hamas fighters with Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli American who died in Hamas custody. Goldberg-Polin’s body was recovered from Gaza in September.
Sharabi, 52, was taken hostage with his brother from their home on Oct. 7. His wife and two daughters were killed. Sharabi’s brother died in custody; Israel says Hamas continues to hold his body.
The future of the ceasefire is unclear. The first phase is set to expire in less than three weeks, and for the truce to hold, the sides must begin talks on phase two.
The Israeli negotiating team was directed to depart Saturday evening for Qatar, where the talks are to occur, according to an Israeli official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.
But the team was instructed by Netanyahu not to discuss the second phase. They’re to focus instead on the “technical details” of the current agreement. Netanyahu planned to discuss negotiations for the second phase of the hostage deal with his security cabinet after he returns from the United States, the official said.
The details of the next round pose a challenge. Many of the issues that deadlocked earlier rounds, such as the next steps in the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and which Palestinian prisoners are to be released in exchange for male Israeli soldiers, remain to be addressed.
Pressure from the United States is seen as essential to keeping the deal together. The Trump administration initially pressed Israel to agree to the deal, but Trump has since said he is not confident it will hold.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, is facing fierce criticism from his government over the deal. His coalition partners have threatened to take the government down if the war in Gaza is not resumed. The ceasefire deal, they say, has handed victory to Hamas.
After sundown Saturday, when Shabbat, the Jewish holy day of rest, concluded, far-right Israeli leaders condemned the conditions of the released hostages. Itamar Ben Gvir called for “voluntary migration now,” echoing Trump’s proposal.
Bezalel Smotrich, an ultranationalist member of the coalition government, said on X the “pure evil” inflicted by Hamas will never be forgotten. He repeated a call for the war to resume. “Such evil must be eradicated from the face of the earth.”