Prisoners serving life sentences among those set to be released today, Hamas says
Among the 183 Palestinian prisoners set to be released by Israel later today are 18 who were serving life sentences, Hamas said today in a statement.
It said 54 of the prisoners to be released were also serving “long sentences,” and that 111 of them were prisoners from Gaza arrested after the current conflict began on Oct. 7 2023.
Netanyahu's office celebrates hostage release
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement celebrating the release of Ohad Ben-Ami, Or Levy, and Eliyahu Sharabi.
“The government, together with all of the security officials, will accompany them and their families,” it said. “The Israeli government is committed to the return of all the hostages and the missing.”
Hostages have crossed into Israel, IDF says
The three hostages released today by Hamas have crossed into Israel, according to the country's military.
“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,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
More bodies pulled from the rubble, Palestinian health ministry says
Another 22 bodies have been recovered and taken to hospitals in Gaza, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement today.
Two people also succumbed to their injuries and one person was killed in the last day, raising the overall death toll during the 15-month conflict with Israel to 48,181.
“A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them,” it said.
Hostages transferred to Israeli military
The three hostages released today have been transferred to Israeli custody inside the Gaza strip, the country's military said.
The Israel Defense Forces said it the hostages would be taken to their homeland where they will undergo an initial medical assessment, before a helicopter will transfer them to hospitals.
These are the hostages in Red Cross custody and on way to Israel
The three hostages released by Hamas are now in Red Cross custody and on their way to Israel.
Accountant and father of three, Ohad Ben Ami, 56, was taken hostage from his home in Kibbutz Be’eri during the cross-border Hamas-led terror attacks on Oct 7, 2023.
His wife, Raz, was also taken captive, but she was released alongside 100 others as part of the weeklong ceasefire deal hostage deal in November 2023.
Eli Sharabi, 52, also from Be’eri, was taken hostage in the attack, but his wife and two daughters were killed in the assault. His brother Yossi was also taken hostage, but Hamas announced his death last year.
An IDF investigation into his death of hostage found he may have been killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza.
Or Levy, a 34-year-old programmer from Rishon LeZion, was abducted from the Nova music festival during the Hamas attacks, where more than 300 people were killed, including his wife, Einav Elkayam Levy.
Hostages transferred to Red Cross vehicles
Each of the hostages have now been led off stage and transfered to the Red Cross vehicles, which are expected to take the trio into Israel.
As the vehicles departed the staging area, eight fighters took to the stage as a group, waving their arms and weapons aloft.
The Israeli military also announced that the hostages have been transferred.
Hostages interviewed by fighters
Each of the three hostages was interviewed on stage by one of the fighters, something that did not happen during previous releases.
Hostages on stage with fighters
Three hostages, Eli Sharabi, Or Levy, and Ohad Ben Ami have emerged from the white van and have been ordered onto the stage alongside a number of fighters holding weapons.
The trio each appear to be holding a document, and are speaking to some of the fighters before their transfer to the Red Cross.
Red Cross on stage signing documents.
Two members of the Red Cross have taken to the stage alongside a fighter, who has presented the duo with a number of documents to sign, as we have seen in previous releases.
One of them has shaken the fighter's hand, and signed the documents which the Hamas fighter also stamped.