Freed Israeli hostages did not know their loved ones had died – CNN
For the Israeli hostages freed Saturday, the suffering did not end when Hamas militants paraded their frail and gaunt figures on a stage in Gaza ahead of their release to the Red Cross.
Only later, after the freed men arrived back in Israel, would two of them discover that some of the loved ones they had hoped to see again were already dead.
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During their stage-managed appearance at the hands of Hamas militants, one of the Israeli hostages, Eli Sharabi, told the crowd that he hoped to see his wife Lianne and daughters Noiya and Yahel.
All three were killed in Kibbutz Be’eri during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7 – but it was only on his return to Israel that Sharabi learnt their fate, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Sharabi did appear to know, however, that his brother Yossi – who was also taken hostage by Hamas – had subsequently died in Gaza, where his body remains, according to the Israeli military.
Both men and their families had lived at the kibbutz, where more than 100 people were killed during the October 7 attacks. Sharabi’s niece has previously spoken of how close the two families were.
Or Levy, another of the hostages released Saturday, had suspected that his wife Einav had died but had not known for sure as he had no access to media during his time in captivity, his mother Geula Levy said.
Levy, 34, was attending the Nova music festival on October 7 when he was kidnapped. His wife Einav was killed in the attack.
Following his release on Saturday, Levy’s mother said he had asked about his wife while in Sheba Hospital, where he was reunited with family members.
“He did not know. He assumed, and asked, and we told him,” Geula told Israel’s public broadcaster Kann 11 News.
While in the hospital, Levy reunited with his son, Almog, who was only 2 years old when his father was taken hostage.
The father and son came together “as if nothing had happened,” Geula said.
Levy’s family issued a statement following his release, celebrating his return while also mourning the death of Einav.
“Her loss has left an enormous void in all our hearts,” they said.
Sharabi, Levy and Ohad Ben Ami’s treatment in captivity, compounded by the realization they did not know of their loved ones’ fate, has galvanized one family whose son was killed by Hamas last year to call on US President Donald Trump to speed up the hostage release process.
On Saturday, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American murdered by Hamas militants in Gaza in August, urged Trump and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to push for the release of all hostages held in Gaza “this week,” dismissing the multi-staged approach to the ceasefire deal agreed by Israel and Hamas.
“Our plea to you (Trump and Witkoff) right now is, now that you’ve done the hard part of getting movement, getting a deal started, let’s not think about phase one and phase two and phase three and many months,” Jon Goldberg-Polin said in the video. “Let’s think bigger and faster.”
“All 76 hostages out this week. End of war. Who benefits from dragging it out for so long? Not the people of this region. Let’s get it done right now,” he said.
The scenes from Saturday’s hostage handover have drawn condemnation from Israel, who called the men’s appearances “shocking,” with a group representing the families of hostages saying that it was “horrified by the visible physical and mental condition” of the men. Levy – who was released as he was considered a humanitarian case – appeared particularly frail.
Following the handover, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement that it is “increasingly concerned about the conditions surrounding release operations,” and urged all parties to “ensure that future releases are dignified and private.”
Later Saturday, Hamas also released a highly produced propaganda video showing the three men together inside a tunnel, in a departure from previous hostage releases.
The three men were released in the fifth round of exchanges between Hamas and Israel. Later Saturday, Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners due to be freed in the deal, 18 of whom were serving life sentences.
A total of 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be released as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which went into force on January 19 and is supposed to last six weeks. Following Saturday’s exchange, Hamas and its allies still hold a total of 73 people taken from Israel on October 7, 2023, and an additional three held in Gaza since before then. Negotiations on the second and third phases are not yet believed to have begun in earnest.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin was kidnapped at the same time as Levy. Both had tried to hide in a bomb shelter before they were caught and taken to Gaza in the back of a pickup truck.
The Goldberg-Polins said their appeal was driven by seeing the condition of the three hostages released Saturday, and “hearing that Or (Levy) had no idea what happened to Hersh, hearing that Eli (Sharabi) was unaware his daughters and wife had been murdered.”
They said they remained close with Levy’s family and that following his release one of Levy’s first questions was how Hersh was doing, unaware that he’d been killed.
“He assumed that he had been released long ago,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin said.
This story has been updated with additional details.
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