Israeli President Isaac Herzog has denounced the release of three Israeli hostages by Hamas on Saturday, calling it a "crime against humanity", as images of the freed men in severely weakened physical condition circulated online.
Ohad Ben Ami, a hostage held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, is released by Hamas militants as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, February 8, 2025. Reuters/Hatem Khaled
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has denounced the release of three Israeli hostages by Hamas on Saturday, calling it a "crime against humanity", as images of the freed men in severely weakened physical condition circulated online.
“This is what a crime against humanity looks like,” Herzog wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “The whole world must see these three men, starving, with emaciated faces, being exploited in a cynical and cruel spectacle by vile murderers.”
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, also condemned the "shocking" footage of the hostage release, stating that it "will not go unanswered."
The three hostages, visibly frail and malnourished, were paraded in front of a crowd of hundreds before being handed over, in what Israeli officials have described as a deliberate act of psychological and emotional manipulation.
Their condition has fueled further outrage within Israel, reinforcing accusations against Hamas of violating human rights and international law.
US embassies in Jerusalem, Baghdad and Amman issued security alerts Saturday urging American citizens to exercise "heightened vigilance," as tensions flare between Iran and the United States. Americans were also told to "consider departing, or be prepared to depart should there be escalation."
President Donald Trump said Friday that Israel was "very happy" with an agreement reached by his so-called Board of Peace for the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups in Gaza.
Britain has asked Cyprus to extradite a dual British-Azerbaijani national suspected of spying on a British air base on the Mediterranean island and passing his findings to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, London police said on Friday.
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