Hamas frees three Israeli hostages as Palestinian prisoners released

Hamas has freed three Israeli hostages in Gaza while Israel has begun releasing more Palestinian prisoners in the latest exchange as part of the internationally brokered ceasefire deal.

The three hostages – Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy – were handed over to the Red Cross on Saturday morning before the men were transferred to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and taken to Israel.

The Palestinian prisoners were greeted with scenes of celebration at Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, with 183 people expected to be freed in total across Saturday.

So far, 21 hostages and at least 383 prisoners have been freed since the ceasefire began on 19 January.

By the end of the first stage of the ceasefire in three weeks time, 33 hostages and 1,900 prisoners are expected to have been freed. Israel says eight of the 33 are dead.

As Sharabi, Ben Ami and Levy were handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, crowds lined up, cordoned off by a row of armed fighters, to watch and film on mobile phones, as Hamas and Palestinian flags flew.

A Hamas official and Red Cross representative signed paperwork on a stage to complete the handover. The hostages were then paraded on stage, flanked by men with guns. The three men posed holding certificates and answered questions into a microphone, before waving as they were ushered into Red Cross vehicles.

Sharabi’s brother-in-law, Steve Brisley, who is from Wales, told BBC Breakfast he felt a “whole pendulum of emotions, from joy and relief through to heartache”.

Brisley said having confirmation that Sharabi is alive is “what we’ve been working toward for the last 16 months”, but it was “incredibly difficult” to see Sharabi, who was “thin and gaunt”, paraded.

“It’s the light that’s gone from his eyes that’s really struck home for me,” Brisley said.

In line with the ceasefire deal, Israel is expected to release 183 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday. More than 70 are serving life or long sentences; others are Gazans detained during the war.

Hamas seized 251 hostages and killed about 1,200 people when it attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, triggering the war.

At least 47,500 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. About two-thirds of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed by Israel’s attacks, the UN says.

Eli Sharabi, 52, was taken from Kibbutz Beeri with his brother, Yossi, whose death has since been confirmed. Eli’s British-born wife, Lianne, and two daughters, Noiya and Yahel, were murdered in the attack.

Ohad Ben Ami, 56, was also taken from Kibbutz Beeri, along with his wife, Raz. She was later released by Hamas.

Mr Ben Ami, an accountant, is “known for his good judgment and sense of humour”, according to the Hostages Families Forum.

Or Levy, 34, a computer programmer from Rishon LeZion, a city south of Tel Aviv, fled the Nova festival with his wife Eynav, when gunmen attacked the event.

Mr Levy was taken hostage and Eynav’s body was found in a bomb shelter where the couple had been hiding.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum put out a statement on Saturday that said “the disturbing images” of the release “serve as yet another stark and painful evidence that leaves no room for doubt – there is no time to waste for the hostages! We must get them all out, down to the very last hostage”.

Hours before they released the hostage names on Friday, Hamas accused Israel of failing to abide by its commitment to boost the amount of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza as part of the ceasefire deal.

The head of Hamas’s media office in Gaza, Salama Marouf, told a news conference in Gaza City: “The humanitarian situation remains catastrophic due to Israeli obstruction”.

He said only 8,500 out of an expected 12,000 aid lorries had entered Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect, and medical equipment and shelter supplies had been deliberately delayed, according to media reports.

The allegation contradicts UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, who on Thursday said 10,000 lorries with food, medicine and tents had crossed into Gaza since the start of the ceasefire in what he called “a massive surge”.

Meanwhile, Yarden Bibas, 34, an Israeli hostage who was freed on 1 February, made a direct plea to Netanyahu to bring back his wife and children, who are still in captivity.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu, I’m now addressing you with my own words… bring my family back, bring my friends back, bring everyone home,” Mr Bibas said in his first public statement since his release.

Hamas claimed in November 2023 that Mr Bibas’s wife, Shiri, and two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, had been killed in an Israeli air strike, without providing evidence. Israel has not confirmed the report.

In a separate development in central Gaza on Friday, hundreds of people – including armed Hamas fighters – attended a funeral held for senior Hamas military commander Marwan Issa.

Issa is seen as one of the masterminds of Hamas’s 7 October attack. The Israeli military had said he was killed in an air strike last March, but his death was only confirmed by Hamas last week.

Details of Saturday’s exchange were released as President Donald Trump continued to push his widely criticised proposal to move all Palestinians from Gaza and redevelop it as an international travel destination.

His announcement – for the US to “take over” the Gaza Strip, resettle its Palestinian population and turn the territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” – has complicated talks on the planned next stage of the ceasefire.

But Israeli negotiators are still expected to meet mediators in Qatar later on Saturday.

Trump’s idea was strongly condemned by Arab countries and the UN.

Additional reporting by Mallory Moench