Heres a Look at the 3 Israeli Hostages Freed Saturday

Hamas released three more Israeli hostages on Saturday as part of an exchange for Palestinian prisoners, in a highly theatrical handover in which the men were made to give speeches effectively at gunpoint.The hostage release is the fifth in a tense series of exchanges that are part of a 42-day cease-fire deal that went into effect last month pausing the fighting between Israel and Hamas.Hamas agreed to incrementally release 33 of the nearly 100 remaining hostages in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinians jailed by Israel and a partial Israeli withdrawal.Here’s a closer look at the Israelis released on Saturday:Ohad Ben AmiMr.

Ben Ami, who was 54 when he was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel, was the kibbutz’s accountant and is an avid cyclist.His wife, Raz Ben Ami, was also taken hostage but was released in the first cease-fire deal in November 2023.

Mr.Ben Ami is a dual Israeli and German citizen.“The only important thing is for Ohad to come back,” Raz Ben Ami told The New York Times in August, adding: “It’s still hard for me to imagine our life after this.”Ella Ben Ami, one of the couple’s three daughters, was a vocal advocate for a cease-fire deal.

She was critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to speak in Congress in July, saying he should not travel abroad until there was an agreement to free the hostages.A video posted on social media in August, showed Ms.

Ben Ami near the border with Gaza calling her father’s name with a microphone in hand and saying she missed him.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....