Hamas frees three Israeli captives as 5th prisoner exchange begins
- 2025-02-08 02:40:00
Hamas released three Israeli captives on Saturday in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails held by Israel in the fifth exchange of a fragile Gaza ceasefire.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the images of three freed captives in Gaza were "shocking".
"The shocking images that we have seen today will not go unaddressed," the office said in a statement after Hamas militants brought the three pale-looking hostages onto a stage before handing them over to the Red Cross.
The Israeli military said that the three captives freed by Hamas on Saturday were now in the custody of its troops in Gaza.
"Three returning hostages have just been transferred to IDF (military) and ISA (domestic security agency) forces in the Gaza Strip," the military said in a statement.
The three captives were identified as Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami.
Dozens of armed Hamas fighters formed a cordon around an open area in the city of Deir el-Balah early Saturday, apparently to control crowds eager to watch the captives' release.
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