Three more Israeli hostages released by Hamas

By Nathan Morley

Hamas has released three more Israeli hostages in the fifth exchange in the Gaza ceasefire deal.

In return, Israel will release 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The hostages have been identified as Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami.

All three men are civilians. 

Ben Ami and Sharabi were kidnapped from the Be'er kibbutz and Levy from the Nova music festival near the Re'im kibbutz.

The Red Cross transported the hostages to the Israeli army on Saturday morning - in an event widely covered in this region on live TV and radio. 

The men will now be given a medical check-up and allowed to meet their families at the army base, after which they will be transported by helicopter to hospital for treatment.

Exchange a part of ceasefire agreement

Since the ceasefire came into effect on January 19, Hamas has released 21 hostages, including today's handover. 

Israel has released 550 Palestinian prisoners.

Under the agreement, a total of 33 hostages will be released in the first phase of the ceasefire. 

Around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees will be released by Israel. 

According to local media, 18 of the Palestinians released Saturday had been sentenced to life imprisonment, 54 to long prison terms, and 111 had been detained in Gaza during the latest war.

According to the ceasefire agreement, Israel is scheduled to withdraw its forces from the Netzarim Corridor, which divides the Gaza Strip, on Sunday.

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Separately, the humanitarian community’s plan to flood Gaza with aid passed an important milestone this week with the news that more than 10,000 relief lorries have entered the enclave since the ceasefire began on 19 January.