Israeli hostages interviewed on stage by armed Hamas fighters before release

Three Israeli hostages were led onto a stage and interviewed by Hamas fighters before being released.

Israelis Eli Sharabi, 52, Ohad ben Ami, 56, and Or Levy, 34 were taken onto a platform in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, where they were seen holding certificates, before being spoken to by the militant group.’

The men, who looked gaunt, were then led to waiting Red Cross vehicles and driven away from the staging area.

They will be transported to Israel and taken by IDF helicopters to meet with medical staff and their families.

Cheers broke out in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel as the men appeared on screen.

Their release comes as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that began on 19 January.

Today will also see the handover of 183 Palestinian prisoners.

The three Israeli men were abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, that sparked the war after some 1,200 people were killed.

Eli and Ohad were both taken from kibbutz Be’eri, and Or was captured at the Nova music festival.

Speaking ahead of the handover, Michael Levy, Or’s brother, said his three-year-old nephew, Almog, already knows that his father was on his way.

Michael said the family had told Almog that his mother was killed on October 7, was not returning but that they were searching for his father.

‘Mogi, we found daddy,” Michael Levy said he told the boy, using his nickname, in an interview with Israeli Channel 12. ‘We haven’t seen happiness like that in him for a long time.’

Osnat Sharabi Matalon, Eli’s sister, told the news channel the family was stunned that he was finally being freed. ‘Until we see, touch and hug him, it feels like it isn’t happening.’

Eli’s British wife and two teenage daughters were killed on October 7. The family do not know if Eli is aware of Lianne, Noiya and Yahel’s deaths, reports the BBC.

The ceasefire paused the 15-month war in the Gaza Strip where Israel’s retaliatory attack killed more than 47,000 people, over half of them believed to be women and children.

It will be the fifth swap of hostages for Palestinian prisoners since the ceasefire began.

Twenty one hostages and more than 550 prisoners have been freed so far.

Several of the prisoners are women and children. Some are accused of minor offences such as throwing stones, while others have not been convicted or even formally charged.

Israel has promised it will release 1,900 prisoners in total as part of phase one of the ceasefire deal.

There have been fears the deal could be destabilised, however, after US president Donald Trump told reporters about his proposal to permanently ‘resettle’ 1.8 million people from Gaza.

He suggested turning the strip into the ‘Riviera of the Middle East’, in plans that have been described as ‘ethnic cleansing’ and a ‘recipe for chaos’.

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