Released Israeli hostage appeared 'skinny' and 'gaunt', family member says
Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy were freed this morning in front of a crowd of heavily armed fighters.
Both Mr Ami, 56, and Mr Sharabi, 52, were taken from Kibbutz Be'eri during the 7 October attack. Mr Levy, 34, was abducted from the Nova music festival.
Mr Sharabi's brother-in-law Stephen Brisley told Sky News' Breakfast with Anna Jones: "You could see how skinny he is, how pale he is. You wonder how much daylight he's seen - very gaunt face.
"I think what struck me the most is that Eli has a very happy face, he smiles with his whole face and smiles with his eyes and it was the lack of light in his eyes that I think is one of the most distressing parts of it."
Mr Brisley added: "You don't know what the last 491 days have done to him, but it's clearly had an incredible impact on him, and it was written all over his face."
Mr Sharabi's wife, Lianne Sharabi, and 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.
Mr Brisley said he feared Mr Sharabi may not know of their deaths.
The Israeli hostages, who appeared thin and frail, were paraded in front of dozens of masked and armed Hamas fighters, as well as a small crowd of onlookers.
They were made to speak in an apparently staged interview by Hamas militants before being handed over to the International Red Cross Committee, which transported them to Israeli forces in Gaza.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "We will not accept the shocking scenes that we saw today."
In return for the captives' release, 183 Palestinian prisoners are to be released - some of which are convicted of being involved in attacks that killed dozens of people.
A bus carrying several dozen Palestinian prisoners from Israel's Ofer prison later arrived in the occupied West Bank, where their families and friends were waiting.
Some 18 Israeli hostages and more than 550 Palestinian prisoners have been freed since the ceasefire began on 19 January.
Under the deal, 33 Israeli hostages are to be released in an initial stage in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
Negotiations on a second phase of the deal began this week. It is aimed at returning the remaining hostages and agreeing to a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in preparation to end the war.
It is feared US President Donald Trump's proposal to move the Palestinian population out of Gaza so the US could take over could complicate the second and more difficult phase of the ceasefire.
Hamas's cross-border attack into Israel saw around 1,200 Israelis killed and around 250 people taken hostage.
Since then Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 47,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
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