Three Israeli hostages are set to be released in Gaza in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners, in the fifth swap as part of the ceasefire deal with Israel.
The hostages to be released on Saturday, February 8, 2025, are Eli Sharabi, 52; Ohad Ben Ami, 56; and Or Levy, 34.
All were abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, that sparked the war.
Sharabi and Ben Ami were both taken hostage from Kibbutz Beeri, one of the hardest-hit farming communities in the Hamas attack. Levy was abducted from the Nova music festival, where he was taking shelter in a saferoom when the militants arrived.
Sharabi’s wife and two teenage daughters were killed during the October 7, 2023 attack, while his brother Yossi was also abducted and died in captivity. Levy’s wife was also killed during the attack.
His now 3-year-old son has been cared for by relatives for the past 16 months.
Ben Ami, a father of three, was kidnapped with his wife, Raz. Raz Ben Ami was released during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023.
The Israel Defence Forces expects Hamas to release the three hostages from one location in central Gaza.
Hamas has been setting up a stage for the handover to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah.
According to reports, all three hostages will be escorted out of Gaza by IDF troops to an army facility near Re’im, where they will undergo an initial physical and mental check-up and meet their families.
Afterwards, they will be taken to Ichilov and Sheba hospitals in central Israel.
Hostages Swap Delayed
The Gaza ceasefire deal remains fragile as the expected captives swap follows a tense delay.
The release of the hostages’ names was delayed by several hours after Hamas accused Israel of delaying the delivery of aid and other equipment in breach of the terms of the ceasefire.
Hamas accused Israel of delaying the entry of hundreds of trucks carrying food and other humanitarian supplies agreed under the truce deal that took effect on January 19, 2025, and holding back all but a fraction of the tents and mobile homes needed to provide shelter to people returning to their bombed-out homes. “This demonstrates clear manipulation of relief and shelter priorities,” Hamas said in a statement.
Hamas said that only 8,500 trucks out of the 12,000 that should have arrived so far had entered the territory, most containing food and secondary goods including chips and chocolate instead of more urgent items.
In addition, only 10% of the 200,000 tents and 60,000 caravans needed to provide shelter had arrived, Hamas said, leaving hundreds of thousands in harsh winter weather.
Finally, heavy machinery needed to clear millions of tonnes of rubble and recover the thousands of bodies thought to be buried had not arrived.
However, Israel rejected accusations that it is dragging its feet on enabling the entry to aid supplies as “a completely unfounded claim”, saying it has allowed in thousands of trucks, including tents and shelters.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency overseeing the aid deliveries into Gaza, denied the accusation and warned that Israel would “not tolerate violations by Hamas.”
COGAT said more than 100,000 tents had entered Gaza since the agreement came into force last month and that caravans were also being allowed in, while tractors had entered from Egypt since Sunday.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people are still marooned in tents and other makeshift shelters worn out by months of use as the fighting raged last year.
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