Hamas has released the names of three Israeli hostages it says it will release today in the fifth such swap of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
The hostages are Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy, Hamas armed wing spokesperson Abu Obeida said in a Telegram post.
An Israeli official confirmed Israel had received the three names from Hamas.
In return for the captives’ release, Hamas said it expects 183 Palestinian prisoners to be released.
Both Mr Ami, 56, and Mr Sharabi, 52, were taken from Kibbutz Be’eri during the 7 October attack. The cross-border attack saw around 1,200 Israelis killed and around 250 people taken hostage.
Mr Levy, 34, was abducted from the Nova music festival.
Of the Palestinian prisoners being freed, 18 have been serving life sentences, 54 were serving long sentences and the vast majority, 111, were detained in Gaza during the war.
Eli Sharabi
Mr Sharabi’s wife Lianne Sharabi was born in Bristol.
She, along with their children, 16-year-old Noiya and 13-year-old Yahel, were killed in the 7 October attack.
His brother Yossi was also killed after being taken hostage.
In a statement after news he would be released was announced, Mr Sharabi’s lawyers said the “family has already lost too much… [they] are pleased and relieved that Eli Sharabi is reportedly on the list for release by Hamas”.
It added: “It is long past time to bring Eli home.”
Or Levy
Mr Levy was captured by militants from a bomb shelter near the Nova music festival.
His wife Einav was killed during the 7 October attack. Their son Almog, a toddler, is staying with his grandparents.
Mr Levy is from the city of Rishon Lezion, where he worked as a computer programmer.
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Some of Mr Levy’s family previously spoke about his kidnapping and the death of his wife.
Speaking around Hanukkah last year, his brother Michael Levy told Sky News’s Yousra Elbagir: “I have three little girls but it won’t be the same. Hanukkah is a happy holiday – you light candles, you sing and eat all sorts of things but for us it is not a real holiday without Or.”
Ohad Ben Ami
Mr Ben Ami, a father of three, was taken hostage with his wife Raz, who was released during the brief ceasefire period in November.
His daughter Ella Ben Ami previously spoke to Sky News about missing her dad Mr Ami, as she pleaded for his release.
“On the eve of Christmas, on the 24 December, it will be his birthday, and I don’t want to celebrate it without him,” she told Sky News in 2023.
Ms Ami was previously one of the first to tell the world what happened on 7 October, calling an Israeli TV channel while hiding.
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Row over aid access
Earlier on Friday, Hamas accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire accord and held off announcing the names of the Israeli hostages until the deadline had passed.
The militant group claimed Israel delayed the entry of hundreds of trucks carrying food and other humanitarian supplies agreed under the truce deal and held back all but a fraction of the tents and mobile homes needed to provide people shelter in the devastated enclave.
“This demonstrates clear manipulation of relief and shelter priorities,” Hamas said in a statement.
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COGAT, the Israeli military agency that is overseeing the aid deliveries into Gaza, denied the accusation.
It added Israel would “not tolerate violations by Hamas”.
The claims and counter-claims highlight the fragility and uncertainty of the ceasefire.
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This has been heightened by US President Donald Trump recently saying the US could take over Gaza and move the Palestinian population out.
Israel’s air and ground war in Gaza has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and displaced the majority of the strip’s population.
Read more:
What’s in the ceasefire deal?
The Israel-Hamas war in numbers
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Fragile ceasefire deal
So far, 13 of the 33 female, older male and child hostages set to be released in the first phase of the multi-phase agreement have returned to Israel.
Five Thai hostages have also been released.
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been released in exchange, often returning to large crowds.
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Work on the second stage of the agreement, aimed at the release of around 60 male hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, has begun.
An Israeli negotiating team was expected to fly to Doha today, according to media reports.
