Hamas militants released three Israeli hostages on Saturday as part of the fifth prisoner exchange under a fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
In return, Israel was set to release 183 Palestinian prisoners later that day. The swap took place after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a controversial plan to clear Gaza of its inhabitants and for the U.S. to take control of the Palestinian territory—a proposal rejected by Hamas and which sparked global backlash.
In Israel’s commercial hub of Tel Aviv, jubilant crowds watched live footage of the three hostages, accompanied by masked gunmen, as they were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Deir el-Balah.
The stage where the handover took place was decorated with a banner showing destroyed Israeli armored vehicles and a somber image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Armed Hamas fighters surrounded the area to manage the crowd of onlookers.
The three hostages were identified as Eli Sharabi, Or Levy, and Ohad Ben Ami. Sharabi, 52, had been at home in kibbutz Beeri with his wife and two daughters when militants attacked, killing his family. Levy was abducted from the Nova music festival, where gunmen also murdered his wife. Ben Ami, who holds dual Israeli-German citizenship, marked his 56th birthday in captivity.
