Hostages Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami slated for release from Gaza Saturday

Hamas on Friday evening named three hostages set to be released from captivity the next day, following an hours-long delay past the 4 p.m. deadline.

The Prime Minister’s Office and the Hostages Families Forum both confirmed that the hostages to be released were Ohad Ben Ami, 56, Eli Sharabi, 52, and Or Levy, 34.

The release was expected to begin on Saturday morning.

Sharabi was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri when Hamas terrorists rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

His wife and daughters were murdered in their home’s safe room and he and his brother Yossi were taken captive. Yossi has since been confirmed dead and Hamas is holding his body.

Sharabi’s family said in a statement: “Today more than ever, we want to show him he was never alone. 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, 34, was kidnapped from the Supernova rave near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7. His wife Eynav was killed, and their now three-year-old son Almog has been staying with his grandparents since. He has been told for the past 16 months that his father is missing and is being searched for.

Levy’s mother Ola told Channel 13: “My heart’s about to leap out of my chest. I’m so emotional, mainly for Or’s son Almog. Almog knows his dad’s being released tomorrow. He said ‘Dad’s coming back’ and jumped up and down on the bed with joy.”

Levy’s brother Michael wrote on Facebook: “Mogi, we found your dad.”

Ben Ami was kidnapped from Be’eri. His wife Raz Ben Ami was also abducted, and released as part of a week-long ceasefire in November 2023. Their daughters campaigned hard for their freedom.

Daughter Ell Ben Ami published an Instagram video of her and her overjoyed sisters piling up on each other on their balcony as they croon “Dad’s coming home!”

Daughter Natalie posted a video of herself tearing up immediately after hearing the news, writing, “Finally our hearts will be whole!”

משפחת בן עמי מתבשרת שאוהד ברשימת המשתחררים למחר pic.twitter.com/xzjJPKlVkw

— ישראל היום (@IsraelHayomHeb) February 7, 2025

“We have both a sacred duty and a moral right to bring all our brothers and sisters home,” the Hostages Forum said in a statement. “We will not give up or stop at any point until all hostages return home under the current agreement — down to the very last one — the living for rehabilitation, and the deceased for proper burial.”

The Hamas prisoners’ media office said Israel was expected to free 183 Palestinians in exchange for the release of three hostages, including 18 who have been serving life sentences, 54 serving long sentences and 111 who were detained in the Gaza Strip during the war.

The terror group’s delay in providing the list of hostages to be freed Saturday underlined the obstacles hanging over the fragile deal that has halted the war in Gaza.

Earlier Hamas had accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire accord, claiming it had delayed the entry of hundreds of trucks carrying food and other humanitarian supplies agreed under the truce deal that took effect on January 19, and holding back all but a fraction of the tents and mobile homes needed to provide shelter to people returning to their bombed-out homes.

“This demonstrates clear manipulation of relief and shelter priorities,” Hamas said in a statement.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency that is overseeing the aid deliveries into Gaza, denied the accusation and warned that Israel would “not tolerate violations by Hamas.”

The Prime Minister’s Office also put out a statement saying the Israeli leader viewed such violations “gravely.”

The spat compounds the uncertainty around the ceasefire that had already mounted following US President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement this week that he wants Gaza to be taken over by the United States.

Trump said on Tuesday he wanted to move the population of Gaza to a third country like Egypt or Jordan and place the small coastal enclave under US control to be developed into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed Trump’s vision for Gaza as a “remarkable” plan, but it was immediately rejected by Arab countries, Palestinian groups including Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, and many Gazans, who said they would rebuild their homes themselves.

However, Israeli leaders have repeated the line that Gazans who wish should be able to leave and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the army on Thursday to prepare a plan to allow for the departure of Gaza residents who wanted to go.

So far, 13 Israeli hostages of the 33 children, women and older men set to be released in the first, 42-day phase of the agreement have come home, and hundreds of Palestinian terror convicts have been released in exchange. Five Thai hostages have also been returned.

Work on the potential second stage of the multi-phase agreement, aimed at securing the release of around 60 male hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, has begun and an Israeli negotiating team was expected to fly on Saturday to Doha, Hebrew media reported on Friday.

The Israeli military said on Friday that commanders were conducting situational assessments ahead of the next phase of the agreement currently being discussed, with troops deployed at various points around the Gaza Strip.

Hamas said only 8,500 trucks out of the 12,000 that should have arrived so far had entered the territory, most containing food and secondary goods including chips and chocolate instead of more urgent items. In addition, only 10% of the 200,000 tents and 60,000 caravans needed to provide shelter had arrived, Hamas said, leaving hundreds of thousands in harsh winter weather.

Finally, heavy machinery needed to clear millions of tons of rubble and recover the thousands of bodies thought to be buried had not arrived.

Almost three weeks after the start of the ceasefire, “the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate dangerously,” the Hamas statement said.

Israel has rejected accusations that it is dragging its feet on enabling the entry to aid supplies as “a completely unfounded claim,” saying it has allowed in thousands of trucks, including tents and shelters.

COGAT said more than 100,000 tents had entered Gaza since the agreement came into force last month and that caravans were also being allowed in, while tractors had entered from Egypt since Sunday. It said 12,600 trucks had entered Gaza so far.

Friday also saw freed hostages Keith Siegel, 65, and Ofer Calderon, 54, discharged from hospitals after spending several days under care following their release from Gaza.

In a statement upon his release, the Calderon family said that Ofer’s “journey to recovery is still long and will not end until all the hostages return home.”

“Ofer promises to join the fight for their return at the first opportunity he can,” they added.

The third hostage freed with Calderon and Siegel last Saturday was Yarden Bibas, whose wife and young children remain in Gaza, their fates unknown.

According to Channel 12 news, Israel is pressuring mediators to secure the release of Shiri Bibas and her young sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 2. Hamas was to release living women and children first under the deal, and Israel has said it has “grave concern” for their lives.

A Hamas official cited by the network said the terror group would see how Trump’s plan to “take over” the Gaza Strip progresses before deciding on the fate of the deal. According to the network, the terror group is unlikely to thwart the rest of the first phase, including Saturday’s expected hostage release.

In total, Israel has said it would release up to 1,904 Palestinian prisoners — including 737 serving life terms for dozens of murders — in return for 33 Israeli hostages during the deal’s first phase.

Though talks for the second phase were supposed to commence Monday, Netanyahu has pushed off sending a negotiating team, reportedly until he returns from Washington next week.

A working-level negotiating team, led by the outgoing Shin Bet deputy director — known by his Hebrew initial “Mem” — is expected in Doha over the weekend, but is empowered to discuss only the first phase, not the second, according to Channel 12.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s spokesman denied reports that the premier presented in Washington a plan to end the fighting in Gaza — a sine qua non for the second stage, but a red line for the right flank of Netanyahu’s coalition.

The delay in talks on the second phase has deeply worried the families of male hostages who are not set to be released until phases two and three.

Moshe Or, brother of hostage Avinatan Or, told Channel 12 that “there is a feeling that the second phase is disintegrating. [People are] starting to talk about all sorts of other things, flattening Gaza, moving the Palestinians… In our view it’s unacceptable and scary that [they’re] starting to talk that way and forget about [the hostages].”

Avinatan marked his 32nd birthday on Thursday. His girlfriend Noa Argamani, who was rescued from Hamas captivity in June, wrote on Instagram that she was “doing everything to get you back, to get to the second phase of the deal so you’re not left behind.”

Argamani herself is currently in Washington with a delegation of hostage families determined to ensure that the deal proceeds to its second phase.

On Thursday, Trump honored her in a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, saying she “showed unwavering strength and courage and faith as she endured the unendurable.”

“By the grace of God, she was rescued by the Israel Defense Forces and now she’s come back to pray with us this morning,” said Trump.

“As president, I will not rest until every remaining hostage has been returned to their families,” he vowed.