Hamas releases three more Israeli hostages to Red Cross custody

Photo : AFP

Hamas gave three Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Deir Al-Balah, a place in central Gaza, on Saturday. The three men, Ohad Ben Ami and Eli Sharabi, were taken from Kibbutz Be’eri when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. The third hostage, Or Levy, was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on the same day.

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This exchange happened under a truce, where Hamas freed the hostages, and Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners in return. This was the fifth time both sides had swapped people. The deal was made with help from Qatar, Egypt, and the United States. Before this, Hamas had already freed 18 hostages, and Israel had let go of about 600 Palestinian prisoners.

Before the handover, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office confirmed they had received a list of names. Netanyahu, the Israeli leader, was in Washington but kept track of everything from there.

Meanwhile, a man named Yarden Bibas, who was freed last week, asked Netanyahu to bring back his wife and two children, who are still in Gaza. Hamas had earlier said that Bibas’ wife, Shiri, and their two sons, Ariel and Kfir, were dead. But Israel has not confirmed if this is true.

A group called the Hostage and Missing Families Forum told the Israeli government to continue the ceasefire so that more hostages can be freed. The second part of the ceasefire agreement is supposed to start soon, but talks are still going on.

The war started on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. During this attack, 251 people were taken as hostages to Gaza. Now, 76 of them are still in captivity, and the Israeli army says 34 of them are dead.

Israel’s military response has caused the deaths of at least 47,583 people in Gaza. Most of them were civilians. The United Nations believes these numbers are correct.