Hostages Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi, and Or Levy were released after 491 days in Hamas captivity on Saturday, with photos showing them gaunt and severely malnourished.
The three were forced by their captors to stand on a stage and wave during their handover to the Red Cross, like the other hostages released over the past few weeks.
On the stage, Sharabi was forced to speak and say that he couldn’t wait to see his wife and two daughters. He was not aware at the time that his wife, Lianne, and two daughters, Noiya and Yahel, had been murdered by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attacks. Sharabi’s brother, Yossi, was murdered in Hamas captivity, and his body is still in Gaza.
Sharabi’s family informed him of the horrific news after he arrived at the hospital in Israel. “Eli’s situation is not simple at all,” a relative of Sharabi’s told Ynet. “In addition to the physical condition and malnutrition, he received the news about his wife and daughters from his siblings after they met, and now the situation is completely different mentally. At this time, he is digesting the most difficult news he could have ever heard.”
Family acquaintances of Sharabi stressed, however, that “despite all the pain and tragedy, Eli is determined and strong to succeed and live. He wants to recover.”
Levy’s wife, Eynav, was also murdered in the Oct. 7 attacks. He was reunited with his 3-year-old son, Almog, at the hospital in Israel.
Released hostages like ‘people who spent a year in a concentration camp’
One of the medical staff treating the three released hostages told KAN that their condition was “no different from people who spent a year in a concentration camp.”
Dr. Hagar Sharabi, head of the medical division of the Health Ministry, noted in a statement that “We have all witnessed scenes of significant malnutrition that illustrate the inferno that the returnees went through in captivity. We have seen a significant loss in the returnees’ body weight — these are complex scenes for us and the returnees’ families.”
“We were moved to see them walking on their own, with their heads held high among dozens of terrorists. Now, they are united with their families. Their strength inspires great hope in all of us for growth from the struggle,” Sharabi added.
Dr. Amir Blumenfeld, a member of the health department of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum and former head of the trauma branch of the IDF’s Medical Corps, warned that each passing day increases the risks for the hostages still in Gaza. He also explained to Ynet that many physical and mental conditions may only become apparent with time.
“It’s time to start using the image of the Holocaust. Until now, I’ve been told to avoid it, but I now feel that this is the parallel that should be made,” Blumenfeld added.
“Similar to Holocaust survivors, I have heard of returnees who, after liberation, were not interested in talking about their experiences at all, compared to others who never stopped talking about it. This is truly ‘holocaust-like’ behavior. I also know of returnees who began to hoard food, and of a constant preoccupation with food.”
“The shocking sights we saw today touch the hearts of all of us and join the living and searing memory of October 7, 2023,” said Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch on Saturday.
“The State of Israel views Hamas’ repeated violations with great severity, and the situation of the three hostages who were released this morning with even greater severity. We will not remain silent about this, a message has been passed on to the mediators, and actions will be taken accordingly,” warned Hirsch.
President Isaac Herzog reacted to the disturbing images from the release of the three hostages, stating, “This is what a crime against humanity looks like!”
“Completing the hostage deal is a humanitarian, moral, and Jewish duty. It is essential to bring back all our sisters and brothers from the hell of captivity in Gaza — every last one of them!” the president added.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich rejected comparisons made between the serious condition of the released hostages and that of Holocaust survivors, saying “comparisons to the Holocaust are a grave mistake and could show disrespect for [the gravity of] the Holocaust. There was only one Holocaust, and nothing, no matter how terrible, compares to it.”
“But for those who still compared Hamas’ treatment of our hostages to the Holocaust today and want to make us surrender to Hamas because of it, I have a question: Would you sign a deal with Hitler that keeps the Nazis in power and allows them to prepare the next Holocaust? Of course not. And that’s why there will be no deal that keeps Hamas in power and allows it to plan the next Oct. 7. Absolutely not,” Smotrich added.
Over 180 Palestinian security prisoners released
Israel released 183 Palestinian security prisoners on Saturday as well, as part of the deal.
What happens next?
The next hostage release is set to take place next Saturday when another three hostages will be released.
A week after their release, another three hostages will be released, and then the ceasefire will reach its last week when the final 11 hostages of this phase will be released.
Negotiations for the second phase of the deal were set to begin this past week but had not yet started as of Saturday evening.
While an Israeli delegation was sent to Qatar to speak with mediators, talks concerning the second phase will only officially begin after the Israeli security cabinet holds a meeting on the issue. The meeting has been significantly delayed – as the talks were supposed to start early last week – and isn’t expected to occur until Tuesday or Thursday this week.
Sources in the political echelon told KAN that the government was hesitant to start discussions on a second stage of the agreement with Hamas because this would lead to the collapse of the government coalition and early elections. Smotrich had warned when accepting the first phase of the deal that he would collapse the government if the fighting in Gaza wasn’t renewed immediately after the first phase.
Some Israeli analysts assessed that U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent statements concerning Gaza were meant to give Smotrich a way to agree to the second phase of the deal based on the promise that Trump’s plan would be actualized later.
On Saturday, the IDF completed its withdrawal from the Netzarim Axis, which crossed the middle of Gaza, as required by the ceasefire agreement.
Hamas has also been threatening to torpedo the deal, accusing Israel of not upholding its commitments concerning the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Despite Hamas’ claims, humanitarian groups operating in Gaza have reported in the past few weeks that the amount of aid entering the Strip has skyrocketed. Neither the mediators nor humanitarian agencies have echoed Hamas’ claims concerning an alleged violation of the deal from Israel’s side.
