Hamas Frees Three Hostages, Israel to Release 183 Palestinian Prisoners

DEIR AL-BALAH, SATURDAY – The Hamas group has once again released three Israeli hostages on Saturday (8/2/2025), in exchange for the release of 183 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons. This prisoner exchange is part of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, which is hoped to pave the way for ending the war in the Gaza Strip.

The three Israeli hostages released by Hamas are Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi, and Or Levy. Ben Ami (56) and Sharabi (52) were abducted from Kibbutz Be'eri when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2025. Meanwhile, Levy (34) was kidnapped from the Nova music festival during the same incident.

The three Israeli hostages were exchanged for 183 Palestinian prisoners. Some of the Palestinian prisoners were jailed on charges related to attacks that killed dozens of people. Meanwhile, 18 of them are serving life sentences, while 111 were detained during the outbreak of the Gaza war.

The exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners is the fifth since the ceasefire began on January 19, 2025. Previously, 18 Israeli hostages and more than 550 Palestinian prisoners were released in the exchange.

Dozens of armed and masked Hamas members were deployed at the prisoner exchange site in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. The three Israeli hostages will be handed over by Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The ICRC will then hand them over to Israeli forces in Gaza.

Before being handed over to the ICRC, the three Israeli hostages were brought to a stage, witnessed by a crowd that filled the surrounding area. On the stage, there was a sign that read: "We are the flood. We are the next war."

Based on the ceasefire agreement, in the first stage, 33 Israeli hostages (children, women, the sick, injured hostages, and elderly men) were exchanged for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Meanwhile, from Israeli prisons, a total of 183 Palestinian prisoners have been released. As reported by Al Jazeera, among them is Iyad Abu Shakhdam (49). He had been imprisoned for nearly 21 years due to his involvement in Hamas attacks against Israel in the 2000s.

Another detainee is Jamal al-Tawil, a prominent Hamas politician in the occupied West Bank and former village chief of el-Bireh, near Ramallah. He has spent nearly two decades in Israeli prisons.

After his arrest in 2021, Tawil was placed under administrative detention, which can be extended every six months. He was held without charge or trial.

It was also reported that on Friday night, the Israeli military raided several homes of the families of Palestinian prisoners who were to be released.

For the families of the hostages in Israel, the release was a moment they had been waiting for for more than a year. "I can't even describe the feeling of joy, how happy we are that this is all over," said Michael Levy, the brother of Or Levy, who lost his wife and three-year-old child.

The exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners is the latest in a series of exchanges. So far, 13 Israelis and five Thais have been released by Hamas in the first phase of the ceasefire. Israel has released 583 Palestinian prisoners.

Despite the fragile conditions, a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange agreement was reached thanks to the mediation of three countries (Qatar, Egypt, and the US).

However, there are concerns that the current ceasefire could collapse following US President Donald Trump's statement that he wants Palestinians to be removed from Gaza, while Gaza will be handed over to the US to be developed into an elite area to become the "Riviera of the Middle East".

Arab countries and Palestinian resistance groups have rejected Trump's proposal, saying his desire to move Gazans amounts to ethnic cleansing.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Trump's proposal. Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the Israeli military to prepare to move Gazans who want to leave the enclave.

A second phase of ceasefire negotiations began earlier this week with the aim of releasing all remaining hostages and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

The Gaza War began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Around 1,200 people in Israel were killed and more than 250 residents were taken hostage in Gaza.

Israel responded by attacking and destroying the Gaza Strip. As of Saturday (8/2/2025), more than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli attacks. (AP/AFP/REUTERS)