Hamas frees three hostages, Israel begins releasing Palestinians

Hamas handed over three Israeli hostages on Saturday, whose emaciated appearance shocked Israelis following their release on live TV, in the latest stage of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the 15-month war in Gaza.

Hamas handed over three Israeli hostages on Saturday, whose gaunt appearance shocked Israelis, while Israel began freeing dozens of Palestinians in the latest stage of a ceasefire deal aimed at 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, were led onto a Hamas podium by gunmen.

The three men all appeared thin, weak and pale, and in worse condition than the 18 hostages who had previously been freed under the truce agreed last month.

"He looked like a skeleton, it was awful to see," Ohad Ben Ami's mother-in-law, Michal Cohen, told Channel 13 News as she watched the Hamas-directed handover ceremony, which included the hostages answering questions posed by a masked man as militants armed with automatic rifles stood on each side.

In another show of force by Hamas, which has paraded fighters during previous releases, dozens of its militants deployed in central Gaza as it handed hostages over to the International Committee of the Red Cross. They were then driven in ICRC vehicles to Israeli forces.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the sight of the frail hostages was shocking and would be addressed.

Israel's President Isaac Herzog described the release ceremony as cynical and vicious. "This is what a crime against humanity looks like," he said.

The Hostage Families Forum said the images of the three hostages evoked images of survivors of Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust. "We have to get ALL THE HOSTAGES out of hell," it said.

In exchange for the hostages' release, Israel is freeing 183 Palestinian prisoners, some convicted of involvement in attacks that killed dozens of people, as well as 111 detained in Gaza during the war.

In Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a bus carrying 42 freed Palestinian prisoners was welcomed by a cheering crowd.

Among those freed was Eyad Abu Shkaidem, sentenced to 18 life terms in Israel for masterminding suicide attacks in revenge for Israel's 2004 assassinations of Hamas leaders.

"Today, I am reborn," Shkaidem told reporters upon arrival in Ramallah, as the crowd cheered.

Many of the prisoners freed appeared in poor health and some complained of ill-treatment. "The occupation humiliated us for over a year," said Shkaidem.

The Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said they have taken six of the 42 released prisoners to hospitals.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the conflict.

Rights groups have reported grave abuses of Palestinians in Israeli detention since the start of the Gaza war. The Israeli military is investigating several cases of alleged abuse but rejects allegations of systematic abuse within its detention facilities.

Some hostages face a painful 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 was killed. Levy will be reunited with his three-year-old son after losing his wife in the attack.

The exchange is the latest in a series of swaps that have so far returned 13 Israeli and five Thai hostages and released 583 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.