Concerns spike over weak condition of latest 3 hostages released by Hamas

The frail condition of the latest three Israeli hostages released by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday as part of the fragile three-weeks-old ceasefire agreement has raised concerns.

Hamas handed over Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy to the Red Cross before they were transferred to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). In exchange, Israel is set to free dozens of Palestinian prisoners. 

“The 3 returning hostages are currently being accompanied by IDF and ISA forces on their return to Israeli territory, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment,” IDF wrote in a Saturday morning post on social platform X.

“The IDF salutes and embraces the returning hostages as they make their way home to the State of Israel," the military added.

The three men seemed to be in a worse physical condition than the previous Israeli hostages that have been released since the temporary pause in fighting between Hamas and Israel took effect earlier this month, multiple outlets reported.

The men were one of around 250 hostages that Hamas took captive during their Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel which ignited the war in the region that raged for more than 15 months before the latest ceasefire agreement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Saturday morning that the “shocking images that we have seen today will not go unaddressed” and once again reiterated that Israel’s government is “committed to returning all of the hostages and the missing.” 

Since the ceasefire began Jan. 19, the two sides have performed five hostage releases. An American citizen Keith Siegel, 65, was released by Hamas last weekend in last week’s exchange as over 180 Palestinian prisoners were freed in return. 

The first phase of the agreement is slated to last 42 days. Around 33 hostages — both living and dead captives — are set to be freed in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas is expected to release more hostages during the second phase of the deal, which is geared toward bringing continued peace between the two groups.

The ceasefire appears to, so far, not be impacted by President Trump’s remarks from earlier this week where he proposed an idea of the U.S. taking over the war-torn Gaza Strip. On Friday, He told reporters that the enclave “will be given to us by Israel” and claimed that his proposal from earlier has “been very well received.”

“We don’t want to see everybody move out and then move back in 10 years,” Trump said on Friday, alluding to his push for Palestinian civilians to be permanently resettled outside of Gaza.