These Are The 17 Hostages Yet to Be Returned in Phase One of Gaza Ceasefire

With five rounds of hostage-prisoner releases completed in the ongoing Gaza ceasefire deal as of Saturday, February 8, there are 17 Israeli hostages still supposed to be set free in the first phase.  

The three latest hostages who were released from Gaza after 491 days of captivity are suffering from severe physical and mental deterioration, including malnutrition, decreased muscle mass, heart disorders, and prolonged infection, according to health officials quoted by Hebrew media on Sunday. 

Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami, and Eli Sharabi were released by the Hamas terror group Saturday looking gaunt and unsteady on their feet, 16 months after they were kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri and the Nova music festival in the October 7, 2023, onslaught. 

Those on the list still to be freed over the initial period of 42 days, are so-called “humanitarian” cases: women, children, elderly individuals, and the infirm.  

The hostages left on the list include Shiri Silberman Bibas, 33, and her two young sons, Ariel, 5, and Kfir, 2, and five older men:  Itzik Elgarat, 70, Shlomo Mansour, 86, Ohad Yahalomi, 50, Oded Lifshitz, 84, Tsahi Idan, 50, and another nine men under 50: Hisham al-Sayed, 36, Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, Yair Horn, 46, Omer Wenkert, 23, Sasha Trufanov, 28, Eliya Cohen, 27, Avera Mengistu, 38, Tal Shoham, 39 and Omer Shem-Tov, 22. (TOI/VFI News)

“Our Heavenly Father, we thank You for bringing 3 more hostages back to their loved ones and undoubtedly experience immense relief after their release. We thank You and we praise Your name. We are grateful that You kept these people alive and we pray in Yeshua’s name that You heal any physical or mental condition they are experiencing due to their abduction and confinement. We pray that You ensure the release of all the remaining hostages and that You protect us from the terrorists also released as part of the deal. We thank You for never forsaking us and for being close to the broken-hearted, the afflicted, and the oppressed. ”