Hamas, Israel complete fifth hostage-prisoner swap

DEIR EL-BALAH, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: Israel and Hamas completed their fifth hostage-prisoner swap under a fragile Gaza ceasefire deal on Saturday, with the frail, disoriented appearance of the three freed Israelis sparking dismay among their relatives.

Out of the 183 inmates released by Israel in return, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said seven required hospitalisation, decrying “brutality” and mistreatment in jail. The fifth exchange since the truce took effect last month comes as negotiations are set to begin on the next phase of the ceasefire, which should pave the way for a permanent end to the war.

Saturday’s swap also follows remarks by President Donald Trump suggesting the United States should take over the Gaza Strip and clear out its inhabitants, sparking global outrage.

Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami and Eli Sharabi, who were all seized by militants during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war, “crossed the border into Israeli territory” on Saturday, the Israeli military said. With their return, 73 out of 251 hostages taken during the attack now remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Jubilant crowds in Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv cheered as they watched live footage of the three hostages, flanked by masked gunmen, brought on stage in Deir el-Balah before being handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross. But the joy at their release was quickly overtaken by concern for their condition, with all three appearing thin and pale. Sharabi’s cousin Yochi Sardinayof said “he doesn’t look well”.

The choreographed handover included forced statements from the three on stage, in which they stated support for finalising the next phases of the Israel-Hamas truce.

The “disturbing images” from Gaza show that “we must get them all out”, said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group.

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog denounced the treatment of the hostages, who were paraded on stage “after 491 days of hell, starved, emaciated and pained” and “exploited in a cynical and cruel spectacle”. In the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority, relatives and supporters gathered to welcome inmates released by Israel, embracing them and cheering as they stepped off the bus that brought them from nearby Ofer prison.

Israel’s prison service said that “183 terrorists... were released” to the West Bank, annexed east Jerusalem and Gaza.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group and the Palestinian Red Crescent said that seven of them had been admitted to hospital in the West Bank.Hamas in a statement accused Israel of “systematic assaults and mistreatment of our prisoners”, calling it “part of the policy of... the slow killing of prisoners”.

Gaza militants have so far freed 21 hostages, including 16 Israelis in exchange for hundreds of mostly Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.

Five Thai hostages freed last week from Gaza were discharged on Saturday from a hospital in central Israel, where they had been treated since their release, and were headed back to their home country.

Negotiations on the second stage of the ceasefire were set to begin on Monday, but there have been no details on the status of the talks.