Hamas hands over 3 Israeli hostages in fifth Gaza exchange amid fragile truce
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Hamas militants handing over (from left, holding certificates) Israeli hostages Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy to a Red Cross team in Gaza on Feb 8.
PHOTO: AFP
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GAZA STRIP – Hamas militants handed over three Israeli hostages on Feb 8 as part of the fifth exchange under a fragile Gaza ceasefire, with 183 prisoners held by Israel due to be released later in the day.
The swop comes after US President Donald Trump proposed clearing out the Gaza Strip
Jubilant crowds in Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv cheered as they watched live footage of the three hostages, flanked by masked gunmen, brought on stage in Deir el-Balah before being handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
But they were also shocked by the sight of three weak, emaciated men in a highly choreographed handover in which Hamas made the men give short speeches in Hebrew from the stage.
“He looked like a skeleton. It was awful to see,” Ms Michal Cohen, mother-in-law of one of the hostages, Mr Ohad Ben Ami, told Channel 13 News as she watched the Hamas-directed handover ceremony.
Mr Ben Ami, thanked Hamas for “protecting him” during his time in captivity and called for the Israeli government to end the war, in a speech that was given effectively at gunpoint and clearly under duress.
The stage was festooned with a banner bearing images of destroyed Israeli armoured vehicles and a dejected-looking Mr Netanyahu.
“The shocking images that we have seen today will not go unaddressed,” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog denounced the treatment of the three hostages as a “crime against humanity”.
“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,” he said in a statement on X.
The other two hostages were identified as Mr Eli Sharabi and Mr Or Levy.
Mr Sharabi, 52, was at his home in kibbutz Beeri with his British-born wife and their two daughters when militants stormed it.
The armed men shot their dog, before locking the family in their safe room and setting it on fire. The bodies of his wife and two daughters were later identified.
Mr Levy was abducted from the Nova music festival, where gunmen murdered his wife. Mr Ben Ami, who has dual Israeli-German citizenship, turned 56 in captivity.
‘Now is the time’
Former hostage Yarden Bibas, who was freed last week by Hamas militants
“Prime Minister Netanyahu, I’m now addressing you with my own words… Bring my family back, bring my friends back, bring everyone home,” Mr Bibas said in his first public message following his release.
Hamas previously said his wife, Shiri, and his two sons Ariel and Kfir – the youngest hostages – were dead, but Israel has not confirmed their deaths.
Mr Netanyahu, who is in Washington, will “monitor this phase of the hostages’ release from the control centre of the delegation in the US”, the premier’s office said in a separate statement.
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government on Feb 7 to stick with the Gaza truce, even as Mr Trump’s comments sparked backlash across the Middle East and beyond.
“An entire nation demands to see the hostages return home,” the Israeli campaign group said in a statement.
“Now is the time to ensure the agreement is completed – until the very last one,” it added.
Israel and Hamas have completed four swops under the first stage of the ceasefire agreement.
Talks in Doha
Palestinian militants, led by Hamas, have so far freed 18 hostages in exchange for around 600 mostly Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.
The ceasefire – mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US – aims to secure the release of 33 hostages during the first 42-day phase of the agreement.
Negotiations on the second stage of the ceasefire were set to begin on Feb 10, but there have been no details on the status of the talks.
Mr Netanyahu’s office said that after the Feb 8 swop, an Israeli delegation will head to Doha for further negotiations on the ceasefire.
The second phase aims to secure the release of more hostages and pave the way for a permanent end to the war, which began with Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023, attack.
During the attack, militants took 251 hostages to Gaza. Seventy-three remain in captivity, including 34 whom the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliation has killed at least 47,583 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable. AFP
