Free after 491 days

Hamas terrorists released another 3 hostages

Ohad Ben Ami looks gaunt and weakened on his release.(Bild: APA/Associated Press)

On Saturday, the terrorist militia Hamas released three more Israeli hostages - the men in question are Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and the German-Israeli Ohad Ben Ami. 491 days in captivity have left the kidnap victims visibly scarred: They look gaunt and weak.

A live television broadcast on Saturday showed how the men kidnapped from Israel were handed over to representatives of the Red Cross. The three people, marked by their martyrdom, had previously been presented on a podium in Deir al-Balah.

The poor state of health of the released men was criticized on Twitter:

Shortly afterwards, the Israeli army confirmed that it had received the three men from the Red Cross and had already returned them to Israel. After an initial medical examination at an army facility, they were to meet their families. They were then to be taken to clinics in the center of the country.

No crowds and chaos on release
Hundreds of onlookers watched the hostage handover, as television footage showed. Unlike almost a week and a half ago, however, there was no jostling crowd and no chaos through which the hostages had to make their way. Numerous masked Hamas members, most of them armed with submachine guns, were also present - as was the case with the previous hostage releases.

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Released men thanked for "care"
Footage showed the pale and thin-looking men being led onto a stage by Hamas members. According to Israeli media, they thanked Hamas for their "care" during their captivity in a choreographed performance.

A fist with a Palestinian flag could also be seen on the stage. The Islamist organization, extremely weakened militarily after 16 months of war, has always used the releases in recent weeks as a demonstration of power. With the staged procedure surrounding the hostage handover, Hamas wants to show the world who is in charge in the Gaza Strip.

Since the beginning of the ceasefire in the Gaza war on January 19, Hamas has already released 16 of a total of 33 Israeli hostages who are to be handed over by Hamas during the first phase of the three-stage agreement. The terrorist organization also released five Thais, but not as part of the agreement with Israel.

Eight of the 33 hostages to be released are dead
Hamas had previously announced that eight of the 33 Israeli hostages were dead. It is unclear exactly who they are. The next hostages are due to be released next weekend. In total, more than 1900 Palestinian prisoners are to be released in the first phase in exchange for the hostages. The list of remaining hostages still to be released includes the Austrian-Israeli dual national Tal Shoham.

Ben Ami and Sharabi were taken hostage during Hamas' surprise attack on Israel in Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7, 2023, while Levy was abducted at a music festival on the same day. In return, 183 Palestinian prisoners are to be released from Israeli custody. Some of them were convicted in Israel of involvement in attacks in which dozens of people were killed. 18 of them are serving life sentences and 111 were imprisoned during the war in the Gaza Strip, according to Hamas.