Three male Israeli hostages — Ohad Ben Ami, 56, Eli Sharabi, 52, and Or Levy, 34 — will be returned home on Saturday in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners, as part of the ongoing ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas will release the hostages, who have been held in Gaza since October 7, 2023, as part of Phase One of the deal. Phase One will take six weeks and facilitate the release of 33 hostages, including 13 who have already been released.
Ben Ami and his wife Raz were kidnapped from kibbutz Be’eri. Raz was released in November 2023, and she and the couple’s daughters have been begging for their family’s reunion for months. “Finally our hearts will be whole,” his daughter Natalie said on social media, in response to the recent news of her father’s impending return.
Sharabi was also kidnapped from Be’eri. Hamas killed his wife and daughters in their family’s safe room. His brother Yossi was also taken captive, but has been confirmed dead. Hamas still holds Yossi’s body captive.
“Today more than ever, we want to show him he was never alone,” his family said in a statement. “We want him to know he’s returning to a people who stood by him, in Israel and around the world, that did not forget him or give up, that fought for him and that will be there for him now in his journey back to life.”
Levy was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, where his wife Einav was slaughtered by Hamas. The couple’s 3-year-old son Almog has been an orphan since October 7.
“I’m just thinking about the hug. How do I hug him after so long?” Levy’s mother said. “This is a child I talk to every day. We told little Almog, and he screamed, ‘Dad is coming back!’ while he jumped on the bed.”
Saturday’s release is the fifth since Phase One began in January. Hamas agreed to release the twelve women and children, older men, and injured civilians in Phase One of the deal, but notably, Shiri Bibas and her two young children, Ariel and Kfir, have not been returned.
Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher, were released first. In following releases, Naama Levy, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev, Arbel Yehoud, Agam Berger, Gadi Moshe, Ofer Kalderon, American-Israeli Keith Siegel, and Yarden Bibas were returned home. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners have been released in exchange for the Israeli citizens.
Six American hostages still remain in Gaza: Eden Alexander, Itay Chen, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Gadi and Judi Haggai, and Omer Neutra. Alexander and Chen are the only two whose fates remain uncertain; Hamas holds captive the bodies of the other four American hostages.
Hamas abducted more than 250 Israelis. As many as 1,650 Palestinian prisoners in total could be released in order to secure the release of the hostages.