On Saturday, February 8th, the Palestinian armed group Hamas released three Israeli male hostages. In exchange, Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners. This marks the fifth round of prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas since the ceasefire in Gaza and the hostage agreement came into effect.
However, Hamas’s actions during the hostage release process on Saturday once again sparked anger and condemnation from Israel. It is currently unclear what measures Israel will take in response.
The three released hostages are 56-year-old Ohad Ben Ami, 52-year-old Eli Sharabi, and 34-year-old Or Levy. They were taken hostage by Hamas during an unprecedented terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The three hostages appeared to be thin, weak, and pale, their conditions seeming much worse than the 18 hostages released last month.
On Saturday, in front of hundreds of people, Hamas militants brought the three hostages onto the stage. There, the hostages were forced to make a public statement before being handed over to the Red Cross.
The frail condition of these three individuals and the carefully staged ceremony by Hamas set this release apart from previous rounds. In previous releases, hostages were not required to speak. Saturday’s hostage release ritual has sparked anger in Israel.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office stated, “We will not accept the shocking scenes that occurred.”
Israel has yet to clarify what measures it will take. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the sight of the hostages’ physical weakness was shocking and must be addressed. Israeli President Isaac Herzog described the release ceremony as malicious. “This is an expression of crimes against humanity,” he said.
The Hostage Families Forum stated that the images of the three hostages remind people of survivors of the Holocaust concentration camps. “We must rescue all hostages from this ‘hell’,” the Hostage Families Forum said.