Looking gaunt and thin, three more hostages have been freed by the Hamas terror group on Saturday.
But the shocking phsyical condition of the trio – Or Levy, 34, Ohad Ben Ami, 56, and Eli Sharabi,52, – has sparked renewed anger and condemnation of their treatment while in captivity in Gaza.
Pete Brisley, the Briyish father-in-law of Eli Sharabi, said:“It’s just very, very emotional here.”
“It’s great to see him released, but I wasn’t expecting to see him looking like that, so very, very thin and emaciated.
“He looks like he’s just come out of a concentration camp… We still don’t know whether he knows that he’s lost his family, his wife and daughters, because nobody knows whether he saw them murdered or whether he was taken outside before.”
Sharabi was taken from Kibbutz Be’eri on 7 October 2023 along with his brother, Yossi, who has since been confirmed dead. His wife and two daughters were killed in the attack.Eli Sharabi on latest list of hostages set to be released by Hamas
In a statement their lawyers said:”We were saddened but unfortunately not surprised at Eli, Ohad and Or’s physical condition and the grotesque spectacle of their release, which should be a wake-up call, if one were needed, to ensure the speedy return of all of the hostages.
“Eli’s release was long overdue. After today’s release of Eli, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami, 17 more hostages are due to be released under the current phase of the ceasefire.
“All of them, together with all the other hostages still being held in Gaza, must be unconditionally and immediately freed.”
Speaking to local media in Israel, Tal Levy, the brother of Or Levy, says that his brother “looks very, very thin, and it’s indeed very difficult to see him”.
He adds: “He’s coming back and he’ll recover.”
Or’s son Almog is with his grandparents and is eagerly awaiting his father’s return. “I told him in tears that his father is coming back. He asked why I was crying, and I said: it’s tears of excitement this time,” Tal says.
“He looked like a skeleton, it was awful to see,” Ohad Ben Ami’s mother-in-law, Michal Cohen, told Israel’s Channel 13 News.
Or’s wife Einav was killed on 7 October 2023. Almog, 3, has been living with his grandparents since the attack.
Earlier the three hostages were paraded by Hamas gunmen on to a stage in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.
They were forced to give statements before waving and being taken away by the Red Cross. Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami were both seized from kibbutz Be’eri, and Or Levy was captured at the Nova music festival.
The Red Cross then departed the staging area transporting the hostages in vehicles.
The hostages’ emaciated condition and a stage-managed ceremony in which the captives were made to speak sparked outrage in Israel and elsewhere in the Jewish world.
Confirming the return of the hostages the IDF said in a statement:”The returning hostages – Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami, and Eliyahu Sharabi – crossed the border into Israeli territory.
“The returning hostages are currently on their way to an initial reception point in southern Israel, where they will be reunited with members of their families.”
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says that the country “embraces the three returnees”, adding that their families have now been informed that the hostages have been returned to the IDF.
“We will not go into the agenda about the shocking sights we saw today”, the statement continues. “The government, together with all security agencies, will accompany them and their families.”
UK foreign secretary David Lammy added:”After 491 days of agony, three more hostages – including Eli Sharabi who has strong UK links – have finally been released.
“They and their families have suffered an unimaginable ordeal. The ceasefire deal must be implemented in full, including the release of the remaining hostages.”
On X, Yair Lapid, the leader of the opposition in Israel, says today’s transfer of hostages makes for “difficult scenes”.
“The difficult scenes this morning in the transfer of the kidnapped are heartbreaking and emphasise the urgent need to continue returning the kidnapped.
“There is no time. Time is running out. We must bring everyone back. Home. Ohad, Eli and Or. How good that you are on your way home.”
The Hostage Families Forum described the appearance of the men as “disturbing” and said it proved there was no time to waste to bring home the remaining hostages.
Israel’s president Isaac Herzog denounced the treatment of Israeli hostages freed from Gaza on Saturday as a “crime against humanity” after the men were paraded on stage during their handover by masked Hamas militants.
“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.”
The three were among about 250 people abducted as the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparked the war.
They were in much poorer physical condition than any of the 18 other hostages released so far during the ceasefire that began Jan. 19.
Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners in the latest swap – including 18 who had been serving life sentences.
