GAZA: Hamas freed three more Israeli hostages Saturday and Israel responded with the release of 183 Palestinian prisoners in the latest exchange of hostages for prisoners as part of the first phase of a fragile ceasefire deal.
This is the fifth exchange since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect last month. It comes as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to promote his plan to take ownership of the Gaza Strip.
The physical condition of the three hostages shocked Israelis. Released were Eli Sharabi, 52, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56, both taken hostage from Kibbutz Beeri, a communal farm, and Or Levy, 34, who was abducted from the Nova music festival during Hamas’ October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel.
The three were gaunt and looked frail, and Hamas militants forced them to speak at the handover ceremony.
“Dad, is it really you?” asked one of Ben Ami’s daughters. “I left XXL and came back medium,” he joked, according to Agence Presse-France. Israeli doctors noted severe malnutrition and significant weight loss in the three men.
“If anyone had any doubt about how urgent it is to bring everyone back … today we got a wake-up call,” Moshe Or, brother of hostage Avinatan Or, told a weekly rally in Tel Aviv.
Some of the prisoners released later Saturday by Israel also appeared weak and gaunt. The Red Cross reported taking seven to hospitals.
Of the 183 released Palestinians, 18 had been sentenced to life imprisonment, and 54 were serving long sentences for what Israel says was their involvement in deadly attacks against Israelis. Some have been in jail for two decades. In the West Bank town of Beitunia, whistling crowds greeted the released prisoners as heroes, waving flags and chanting support for Hamas.
Additionally, among those released were 111 Palestinians from Gaza who were captured after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack, which triggered the war in Gaza. They were detained without trial, and the Red Cross brought them to the European Hospital in Gaza’s southern town of Khan Younis, where scores of people poured into the streets in celebration.
(VOA)
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