Calls grow in Israel for all hostages to be released together

Calls for a deal to release all the remaining hostages at once are growing in Israel following widespread shock at the emaciated state of the three hostages freed yesterday.  The calls came as new details emerged of their time in captivity. 

Thousands of protestors took to the streets in Tel Aviv, in Hostages Square and at Begin Gate on Saturday evening. Demonstrators also blocked Highway 4 at Ra’anana.

Thousands gather to call for all the hostages to be released together (Credit: Marcelo Sznaidman)[Missing Credit]

Hostage families demanded that remaining 76 hostages be released in a comprehensive deal in light of the medical condition of Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami, described by the Israeli health ministry as “severe malnutrition”.

The three frail and skeletal-looking men were all returned to Israel hours earlier in the latest hostage-prisoner exchange after being transferred first to the Red Cross and then to the IDF and the Israel Security Agency.

[Missing Credit]

Several posters in Tel Aviv criticised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to meet President Trump: “They’re going through a Holocaust and you’re on vacation in America”, one read.

Crowds accused Netanyahu of attempting to block the deal from progressing to its second phase, potentially leaving dozens of hostages in captivity.

Sharabi, Levy, and Ben Ami were all reportedly physically tortured and experienced physical and psychological abuse during their 491 days in captivity.

In a propaganda video filmed by Hamas ahead of their release, the three men are seen being directed by masked, armed members of the terrorist organisation through a labyrinth of terror tunnels. They can then be seen being loaded into cars by the terrorists, who are wearing green Hamas headbands, and ordered to give thumbs up before being driven through a crowd of spectators in Gaza.

[Missing Credit]

According to reports, Levy and Sharabi were kept together throughout their time in captivity, with Ben Ami joining them only yesterday ahead of their release.

All three men spoke about being “constantly hungry” and were moved between many places by Hamas during the last year and a half and barely saw daylight.

Levy, who did not know throughout his captivity whether his wife, Einav, was alive or not, was held barefoot in the Hamas tunnels underneath Gaza. He lost about 20kg during his captivity and was provided with a shower only once every few months. He only learned after his release that Einav had been murdered on October 7. 

During interrogations by Hamas terrorists, Levy said they tried to extract information about him and the IDF, treating him as a reserve soldier.

Following his return to Israel on Saturday,  Levy was reunited with his three-year-old son, Almog, and given a pair of shoes to wear for the first time.  Almog told his father: “Dad, it took you a long time to come back.”

[Missing Credit]

The families of the three men said they were “horrified” at the “grotesque spectacle” of the exchange. In a statement on Saturday, Sharabi ‘s family said: “We are saddened but unfortunately not surprised at Eli, Ohad and Or’s physical condition and the grotesque spectacle of their release, which should be a wake-up call, if one were needed, to ensure the speedy return of all the other hostages.”

As part of the psychological abuse, Sharabi’s captors told him nothing about the fate of his wife, British citizen Lianne, and two daughters Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13, who were all murdered on October 7. They did, however, tell him that his brother Yossi, who had been taken to Gaza alongside him, was killed in Gaza.

Ben Ami’s daughter, Ella, told the Times of Israel that she “barely recognised” her father. “It took me a second to realise that it was dad,” she said, “I’m sure we’ll get past that quickly. I simply want to hug him. He’s come back on his own two feet. He’s strong. He survived it.”

Ben Ami’s sister-in-law said it was “very hard” to see him like that. “He doesn’t look like himself. He looks like he’s suffered a lot for such a long time,” she said.