Hamas and Israel have been exchanging hostages and prisoners today in the fifth swap of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza. The three hostages freed by Hamas were first paraded on stage and given a microphone – scenes Benjamin Netanyahu has warned he will not forget. Follow the latest below.
Saturday 8 February 2025 23:42, UK
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We’re closing our live blog covering the latest news in the Gaza ceasefire, but we’ll be back if any breaking developments happen.
Until we return, here’s a quick recap of what’s been happening:
Today saw the release of Israeli hostages Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners.
The exchange went to plan, but Israeli officials were outraged by the fact the hostages were forced on stage by Hamas gunmen before the trade and interviewed in front of a crowd under duress.
There was also fury over the wellbeing of the three men, who medics say are suffering from “severe malnutrition” having lost a significant amount of weight in captivity.
It led Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to once again vow to destroy Hamas, while also pledging to get all remaining hostages out of Gaza.
Reports from Israel suggested Eli Sharabi was only informed his wife and two daughters had died in the October 7 attacks once he was freed.
Palestinian officials have also expressed anger at the condition of some of the 183 prisoners released as part of the exchange, saying some were in poor health.
Freed hostage Eli Sharabi’s parents-in-law have opened up on what it was like to see him released by Hamas today.
Gillian Brisley and her husband, Pete, watched the hostage release earlier live on TV from their home in South Wales.
It came 16 months after Mr Sharabi was taken from the kibbutz he lived on during the October 7 attack – the same day Hamas killed his wife Lianne Sharabi and his teenage daughters Noiya and Yahel.
Lianne was the Brisleys’ daughter, and Noiya and Yahel their granddaughters.
The pair told the Associated Press they were thrilled to see their son-in-law was finally freed, but it meant other feelings caught up with them after months of suppressing their grief in order to campaign for his freedom.
“The emotion of seeing him also then brought the grief of losing our girls right up to our throats,” Gillian said.
“We just sat here and we cried. We cried for our loss. We cried with relief that Eli was on his way home. We cried for Yossi. Just, you know, mixed emotions.”
Yossi was Eli’s brother, who was also kidnapped on October 7 and killed while being held in Gaza.
They have done what they can to help ease Mr Sharabi back into life in Israel, having already visited his home on the kibbutz he was taken from to help clean up the mess left behind.
“When we went to the house, it was filthy, bullet holes everywhere,” Pete said.
“So we tidied up the house, tidied up the garden, so if Eli wanted to come home to it, then it looks reasonable, because it was an absolute shambles.”
But they are worried for Mr Sharabi, who Pete said looked like he had been “to Belsen” – World War II concentration camp – due to his weight loss.
Then there is the mental toll of his captivity, through which it is believed Mr Sharabi thought his wife and children were alive.
Pete and Gillian’s son Stephen earlier told Sky News that the family were hoping he had learnt the news while in captivity, so that he wouldn’t have to process the grief after his release (see post at 10.36am).
By Alistair Bunkall, Middle East correspondent
From the moment they stepped from the Hamas vehicle, to be seen alive for the first time in 15 and a half months, the three hostages were clearly gaunt and in poor health.
Reports in Israel say they have lost up to 30% of their body weight and they are in a bad medical condition.
Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy looked much frailer than any of the hostages released previously during this phase of the ceasefire. Their time in captivity has obviously been punishing.
Like previous hostage releases, they were humiliatingly paraded on stage but this time interviewed in front of the crowd, in a propaganda stunt for Hamas.
It has all caused a real feeling of shock and anger in Israel tonight and a new urgency to get all of the hostages home as quickly as possible.
Read more below…
UK prime minister Keir Starmer has reacted to the release of Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi, who has family in Britain.
Mr Sharabi’s wife Lianne, who was killed on October 7 while he was taken hostage, was born in Bristol and raised in South Wales, where her parents and brother still live.
“I shared the relief of so many at Eli Sharabi’s release earlier today but was dismayed to see his frail condition and the circumstances of his release,” Sir Keir said in a statement tonight.
Mr Sharabi is severely underweight, according to medics, and was forced to make public remarks by Hamas gunmen this morning before they released him to the Red Cross.
“Having met his relatives I appreciate the deep pain they have endured and my thoughts are with them,” the PM added.
He went on to say hostages needed to continue to be freed after being “ripped away from their lives in the most brutal circumstances and held in appalling conditions”.
Mr Sharabi was taken from his home on a kibbutz during the October 7 attack alongside his brother Yossi, who was killed in captivity.
His wife Lianne was killed during the raid on his home, as were their two teenage daughters, Noiya and Yahel.
The hospital where freed hostage Ohad Ben Ami is being treated says the “severity” of his condition will need to be assessed over the next few days.
Mr Ben Ami is with his family at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, while fellow released hostages Eli Sharabi and Or Levy are being treated at Sheba hospital in Ramat Gan.
Professor Gil Fire, a medical associate at Ichilov, said Mr Ben Ami was in a “severe nutritional state” having lost a significant amount of weight – something which has been said of all three returned hostages.
“The additional health consequences of prolonged captivity under terrible conditions will be examined by us in the coming hours and days, and we are prepared to address all of them,” Prof Fire said in a news conference tonight.
The good news, he went on, was that the father-of-three was showing “resilience in spirit” alongside his “strong and supportive” family, who he said would help him return to a “healthy life”.
It has been another significant day in the Gaza ceasefire, seeing three Israeli hostages returned home in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners.
We’ve seen Israelis Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy reunited with their loved ones after being paraded around a stage alongside gunmen in a move which has antagonised Israel’s government.
We also saw Palestinian prisoners – 18 of whom were serving life sentences – return home in buses that were swiftly swarmed by crowds who celebrated their release.
Click the video below for a full recap showing all of today’s big moments.
Benjamin Netanyahu has made a strongly-worded statement after the release of three hostages today.
In a video his office tweeted earlier tonight, the Israeli prime minister welcomed the release of Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy, but vowed to destroy Hamas.
The statement came after the hostages’ emaciated condition and scenes of Hamas forcing them to speak in a handover ceremony sparked outrage in Israel, as 183 Palestinian prisoners were released as part of the exchange.
“We have seen again what monsters Hamas are,” he said.
“These are the same monsters who slaughtered our citizens and abused our hostages.
“And I say to them again: let their blood be on their heads.”
He yet again reaffirmed the government would do “everything to return all our hostages” and “ensure their safety,” amid concern that he will resume the war at the expense of some Israelis still in captivity.
He also said US president Donald Trump had agreed with his goal to have the hostages returned while also eliminating Hamas.
We reported earlier that it wasn’t known whether Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi was aware prior to his release that his wife and two children were killed by Hamas in the October 7 attack.
His Bristol-born wife Lianne Sharabi, along with their children 16-year-old Noiya and 13-year-old Yahel, were killed while Mr Sharabi and his brother Yossi were taken hostage.
Yossi was also killed while in captivity.
Mr Sharabi was paraded on a podium by armed Hamas personnel and interviewed before his release earlier today.
In one of his answers, which was clearly given under duress, he said he was hoping to see his wife and daughters very soon, according to translations provided by our US partner NBC News.
Mr Sharabi also told the crowd he was aware of brother’s death and said he was “very angry” with the Israeli government.
All three hostages made critical remarks about Israel while on stage with the armed men.
The comments came as Stephen Brisley, Mr Sharabi’s brother-in-law, told our presenter Anna Jones this morning that he wasn’t sure if he had found out about his family’s fate (see post at 10.36am).
“All the way through this, we’ve wondered whether what’s kept him going is the prospect of being reunited with Lianne and the girls,” he said.
Photos after his release showed Mr Sharabi reunite with his wider family.
We’re briefly moving away from today’s hostage and prisoners exchange to share an update from Israeli media.
They say prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sent a delegation to Doha, Qatar, for the next phase of ceasefire talks.
This first phase is set to last a total of 42 days, and is expected to see 33 Israeli children, women and sick, wounded or older men released in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
Negotiations on the second phase are aimed at returning all remaining hostages and agreeing on a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in preparation for a final end to the war.
The head of the medical division in the Israeli Health Ministry has been providing updates on the wellbeing of the freed Israeli hostages.
Dr Hagar Mizrahi said their “significant weight loss” was clear to see upon their release this morning, and that medical evaluations have shown they are all suffering from “severe malnutrition” and a “significant decrease” in body weight.
He added it represented the “severe conditions” Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Oham Ben Ami were kept in under Hamas.
Palestinian officials have also expressed anger at the condition of some of the 183 prisoners released as part of the exchange today, saying some appeared to be in poor health having been badly treated while imprisoned by Israel.
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