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Sky News
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Released Israeli hostage appeared 'skinny' and 'gaunt', family member says
One of the three Israeli hostages released by Hamas in the fifth such swap of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza appeared "skinny" and "gaunt," a member of his family has said. Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy were freed this morning in front of a crowd of heavily armed fighters. Both Mr Ami, 56, and Mr Sharabi, 52, were taken from Kibbutz Be'eri during the 7 October attack. Mr Levy, 34, was abducted from the Nova music festival. Mr Sharabi's brother-in-law Stephen Brisley told Sky News' Breakfast with Anna Jones: "You could see how skinny he is, how pale he is. You wonder how much daylight he's seen - very gaunt face. "I think what struck me the most is that Eli has a very happy face, he smiles with his whole face and smiles with his eyes and it was the lack of light in his eyes that I think is one of the most distressing parts of it." Mr Brisley added: "You don't know what the last 491 days have done to him, but it's clearly had an incredible impact on him, and it was written all over his face." Mr Sharabi's wife, Lianne Sharabi, and their children 16-year-old Noiya and 13-year-old Yahel, were killed in the 7 October attack. His brother Yossi was also killed after being taken hostage. Mr Brisley said he feared Mr Sharabi may not know of their deaths. The Israeli hostages, who appeared thin and frail, were paraded in front of dozens of masked and armed Hamas fighters, as well as a small crowd of onlookers. They were made to speak in an apparently staged interview by Hamas militants before being handed over to the International Red Cross Committee, which transported them to Israeli forces in Gaza. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "We will not accept the shocking scenes that we saw today." In return for the captives' release, 183 Palestinian prisoners are to be released - some of which are convicted of being involved in attacks that killed dozens of people. A bus carrying several dozen Palestinian prisoners from Israel's Ofer prison later arrived in the occupied West Bank, where their families and friends were waiting. Some 18 Israeli hostages and more than 550 Palestinian prisoners have been freed since the ceasefire began on 19 January. Under the deal, 33 Israeli hostages are to be released in an initial stage in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Negotiations on a second phase of the deal began this week. It is aimed at returning the remaining hostages and agreeing to a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in preparation to end the war. It is feared US President Donald Trump's proposal to move the Palestinian population out of Gaza so the US could take over could complicate the second and more difficult phase of the ceasefire. Hamas's cross-border attack into Israel saw around 1,200 Israelis killed and around 250 people taken hostage. Since then Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 47,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Sky News
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Three more Israeli hostages released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners
Hamas has released three more Israeli hostages in the fifth such swap of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza. Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy were freed this morning in front of a crowd of heavily armed fighters. Both Mr Ami, 56, and Mr Sharabi, 52, were taken from Kibbutz Be'eri during the 7 October attack. Mr Levy, 34, was abducted from the Nova music festival. The cross-border attack saw around 1,200 Israelis killed and around 250 people taken hostage. In return for the captives' release, 183 Palestinian prisoners are due to be released. The Israeli hostages, who appeared thin, were paraded in front of dozens of masked and armed Hamas fighters, as well as a small crowd of onlookers. They were then handed over to the International Red Cross Committee, which will transport them to Israeli forces in Gaza. Some 18 Israeli hostages and more than 550 Palestinian prisoners have been freed since the ceasefire began on 19 January.
Al Arabiya
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Hamas set to release three Israeli hostages as Gaza ceasefire holds
Palestinian militant group Hamas is set to hand over three Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for Palestinian detainees and prisoners in the latest stage of a ceasefire deal aimed at opening the way to ending the 15-month war in Gaza. Ohad Ben Ami and Eli Sharabi, both taken hostage from Kibbutz Be'eri during the cross-border Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, and Or Levy, abducted that day from the Nova music festival, will be handed over on Saturday, Hamas said. For the latest updates on the Israel-Palestine conflict, visit our dedicated page. In exchange, Israel will release 183 Palestinian prisoners, some convicted of involvement in attacks that killed dozens of people and including 18 serving life sentences and 111 detained in Gaza during the war, according to Hamas. Dozens masked and armed Hamas fighters deployed in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, at the site of the exchange, where hostages will be handed over to the International Red Cross Committee, which will transport them to Israeli forces in Gaza. For families of the hostages who have been held incommunicado in Gaza for more than a year, the wait has been a roller-coaster of dread and hope as the moments of reunion drew near. 'I can't even start to describe the emotions that the excitement, how happy we are that it's finally close to be over, said Michael Levy, brother of Or Levy, who lost his wife in the October 7 attack and has a three-year-old son. 'We are waiting to hug him, waiting to see Almog (Levy's son), hugging his father again.' Other hostages also face a harsh return. Sharabi's two teenage daughters and his British-born wife were slain in the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Be'eri, where one in 10 residents were killed. 'We are counting the minutes, the seconds and we just want him to be here already,' said Astrid Dafan-van Dien, a friend of Sharabi, 'although it will be very difficult because of Lianne (Sharabi's wife) and the girls.' A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza are on the way to collect Israeli hostages from Hamas, an official involved in the operation told Reuters.
