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Reporter’s Notebook: Crunch time for hostages amid ceasefire uncertainty

It’s crunch time for the nervous families of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. Under the rules of phase one of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal, another nine living hostages will be released by the end of the month. Including the three on Saturday. Along with more of the already dead. Remaining living hostages would be released in a phase two, which has not yet been agreed to.

The last few batches of hostages put on display in propaganda moves by Hamas have looked worse and worse. Malnutrition is a common malady. Plus untended wounds. And mental degradation. As information emerges. Spending months in dark damp tunnels, bodies chained to walls, humans forced to grovel like animals.

TRUMP SAYS CEASEFIRE SHOULD BE CANCELED IF HOSTAGES AREN’T RELEASED BY SATURDAY: ‘LET HELL BREAK OUT’

The feared, but now confirmed, horrible state of the hostages is raising pressure on the Israeli government to try and speed up the release of the prisoners. If not quite the all-or-nothing approach of President Donald Trump’s proposal earlier this week, then at least an accelerated phase one release program and an extended release beyond the deadline for the start of phase two.

We recently had the chance to meet with the relatives of some of the hostages who have been freed under the current plan. Elan Tiv Siegel, daughter of 65-year-old North Carolina native Israeli-American Keith Siegel, freed earlier this month, told us that while his father suffered from real malnutrition and lost 65 pounds, he kept his spirit and mind alive.

ISRAELI CABINET BACKS TRUMP’S DEMAND FOR HAMAS TO RELEASE ALL HOSTAGES BY SATURDAY DEADLINE

Likewise, 24 year-old Romi Gonen, who gained freedom late last month, on the surface at least seems like any bubbly young woman. But in fact, her sister Yarden told us she had suffered a bad arm injury, which will need months of surgery and rehab to try and get back into shape. She also made the common complaint of a horrendous diet.

Everyone we spoke with sees the role of President Trump as a positive that pushed what had been a months-long stalled hostage deal across the line. While they like the sound of a mass release of the long-held captives, they are a little worried about rocking the ceasefire “boat” too much, by going for too much too soon, acknowledging the fact that Hamas are terrorists.

Still, a light at the end of this very horrible long tunnel might be a bit more visible at this time.

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Greg Palkot currently serves as a London-based senior foreign affairs correspondent for Fox News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in 1998 as a correspondent. Follow him on Twitter@GregPalkot.

February 15, 2025
Hamas frees 3 more hostages in exchange for more than 300 prisoners as part of ceasefire deal with Israel

Hamas released three more hostages on Saturday in exchange for more than 300 Palestinian prisoners as part of the delicate ceasefire agreement reached with Israel.

The hostages released were Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29; Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, and Yair Horn, 46. Troufanov has Israeli and Russian citizenship, Dekel-Chen is an American-Israeli and Horn is a dual citizen of Israel and Argentina.

The three were abducted by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz in the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel that sparked the war in Gaza now under ceasefire.

HAMAS TO FREE ANOTHER AMERICAN IN SATURDAY HOSTAGE RELEASE

Hamas has released Alexander (Sasha) Troponov, 29; Sagi Dekel-Chen, 36, and Yair Horn, 46. (Photos provided by The Hostages Family Forum)

The Palestinian prisoners were freed from Israeli jails as part of the sensitive ceasefire agreement, which has continued to hold even after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened that “all hell is going to break out” if Hamas does not release all the remaining hostages this week. Trump has also said he is committed to the U.S. purchasing and taking over Gaza and resettling Palestinians elsewhere.

About 70 hostages remain in Hamas custody. Nearly all the remaining hostages, including Israeli soldiers, are men and about half are believed to be dead.

EGYPT REPORTEDLY RELEASES DETAILS ON PLAN TO REBUILD GAZA; THERE’S NO MENTION OF ‘COOPERATION’ WITH THE US

Graffiti on Israel’s separation barrier depicts the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP)

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In the first phase of the ceasefire, 24 hostages and more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners have been released so far. The first phase includes Hamas’ release of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The war could resume if no agreement is reached on the more complicated second phase, which calls for Hamas to release all remaining hostages and an indefinite extension of the ceasefire.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

February 15, 2025
Trump so far has freed 11 hostages in his first month as president; Biden released around 70 in four years

President Donald Trump’s administration has secured the release of 11 U.S. hostages held by foreign governments since taking office less than one month ago, according to the White House.

The Trump administration has emphasized arranging the release of U.S. hostages under his second administration and welcomed U.S. Marc Fogel, a U.S. history teacher who had been detained in Russia since 2021, back to the U.S. Tuesday.

Other hostages released since Trump’s inauguration include six Americans detained in Venezuela, two Americans detained in Belarus and Israeli-American citizen Keith Siegel, who was held hostage by Palestinian militant group Hamas. There are at least two living American citizen hostages believed to be held in Gaza.

By comparison, former President Joe Biden said in 2024 his White House secured the release of more than 70 hostages during his four years in office, according to an August 2024 statement. Fox News Digital didn’t find any available data to compare numbers from Biden’s first month in office.

ISRAELI PRESIDENT CALLS TRUMP A ‘TRUE FRIEND’ ON INAUGURATION DAY, PRAISES HIS WORK TO RELEASE HOSTAGES

Released American schoolteacher Marc Fogel reacts during a Feb. 11, 2025, event held by President Donald Trump to welcome back Fogel, who had been held in Russia since 2021. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

There were 46 American nationals known to be held captive in 16 different countries in 2024, according to the nonprofit Foley Foundation, which advocates for U.S. hostages and was named after James Foley, a U.S. journalist kidnapped while reporting in Syria in 2012 and killed by ISIS in 2014. That number is now likely closer to the low 30s after the recent releases of hostages in January and February.

On Tuesday, Trump met with Fogel, who was arrested in August 2021 at a Russian airport for possessing drugs and was slated to serve a 14-year sentence. Fogel’s family said the drugs he had on him were medically prescribed marijuana.

“I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all,” Fogel said Tuesday after meeting Trump. “And President Trump is a hero.

FREED ISRAELI HOSTAGE SPEAKS OUT FOR FIRST TIME

“These men that came from the diplomatic service are heroes,” Fogel said. “The senators and representatives that passed legislation in my honor — they got me home — they are heroes.”

Following Foley’s return and after announcing the release of another, unnamed hostage held in Belarus Wednesday, Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler said Trump “has made bringing Americans home a top priority, and people respond to that.”

The names of most of the hostages released in February have not been publicly shared.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital about which hostages the U.S. was planning to release next.

American-Israeli citizen Keith Siegel has released a video message heaping praise on President Donald Trump after he was freed from captivity by the terrorist group Hamas two weeks ago. (Omar el Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images )

Just before Trump’s inauguration Jan. 20, both the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration coordinated to secure a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, which included provisions to release dozens of hostages on both sides.

Biden and Trump separately boasted about their individual efforts to secure the deal, and State Department spokesman Matthew Miller described the Trump administration’s involvement as “critical” to getting the deal over the finish line.

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Trump also touted his administration’s involvement in a social media post Jan. 15, claiming it occurred “as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies.”

Although Biden said the two teams had been “speaking as one team” during the negotiations, he also mocked suggestions that Trump was responsible for securing the ceasefire deal.

Former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump both took credit for their role in securing the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. (Getty Images)

“Who in the history books gets credit for this, Mr. President, you or Trump?” Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich asked Biden Jan. 15 after a White House news conference.

ISRAEL RELEASES 90 PALESTINIAN PRISONERS AS PART OF CEASEFIRE DEAL TO FREE HOSTAGES

“Is that a joke?” Biden said.

When Heinrich said it was not, Biden replied, “Oh. Thank you.”

The Associated Press and Fox News’ Emma Colton and Landon Mion contributed to this report.

Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.

February 14, 2025
Former Hamas hostage’s mom says daughter was forced to fake her death for a propaganda video

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Former Hamas hostage Daniella Gilboa was apparently forced to fake her own death for a propaganda video. In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, Orly Gilboa, Daniella’s mother, detailed the horrifying ordeal.

“One of the captors just came to her with a camera and said, ‘Daniella, today we’re going to film you dead.’ She of course pleaded for her life and asked him not to do it,” Orly Gilboa told Channel 12. Gilboa also said that her daughter was covered in debris and powder to make it seem like she was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

In November 2024, Hamas claimed that Gilboa was killed in an Israeli airstrike, producing the video of her “dead body” as proof. However, Gilboa was in fact alive and was released from captivity on Jan. 25, 2025, alongside Liri Albag, Naama Levy and Karina Ariev.

Released Israeli hostage Daniella Gilboa, a soldier who was seized from her army base in southern Israel during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, is embraced by her parents after being released as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in an unknown location, in a handout photo obtained by Reuters on Jan. 25, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS)

Following Hamas’ release of the video, the IDF said in a statement that it was investigating the situation. The IDF also condemned the release of the video, saying “Hamas continues to engage in psychological terror and act with extreme brutality.”

Hamas made videos of multiple hostages, including Yarden Bibas, whose wife and two young sons were also kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023. Bibas is seen in the Hamas video, which was released in November 2023, breaking down as he is told that his family was killed. The fate of Bibas’ wife, Shiri, and their sons, Ariel and Kfir, remains unknown.

Gilboa, Albag, Levy and Ariev were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from an IDF base in southern Israel during the attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. Agam Berger, who was taken hostage with the other female soldiers, was held for an extra week alone. She was released from Hamas captivity on Jan. 30, 2025.

Former Hamas hostages Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Daniela Gilboa and Karina Ariev watch as fellow hostage Agam Berger is released. (Courtesy: IDF)

HAMAS SAYS IT WILL FREE MORE ISRAELI HOSTAGES ON SATURDAY AS ORIGINALLY PLANNED

On the day she was taken hostage, Gilboa was shot in the leg, but the bullet was not removed during her time in captivity.

In an exclusive interview with Ynet, Ran Gilboa, Daniela’s father, called his daughter “a hero who returned from hell.” He also revealed that for two days after his daughter’s kidnapping, his family did not know if she was alive or dead.

“Their captors gave them more food in the days leading up to their release. They were only told they would be freed three days before it happened,” Ran Gilboa told Ynet.

Israelis were stunned by the condition of three hostages released last week, Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami, as the men appeared emaciated. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised that this “would not be ignored.” Additionally, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that the “emaciated and pained” men were a visual representation of a “crime against humanity.”

President Donald Trump (left) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right). (Getty Images/Fox News Digital)

ISRAELI CABINET BACKS TRUMP’S DEMAND FOR HAMAS TO RELEASE ALL HOSTAGES BY SATURDAY DEADLINE

Hamas and Israel were engaged in a ceasefire. However, the terrorist organization threatened to stop hostage releases. President Donald Trump then gave Hamas a deadline of Saturday, Feb. 15, at 12 p.m. to release the remaining hostages.

“If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel the ceasefire,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “Let all hell break out. Israel can override it.”

Trump stressed that Hamas needs to release “all of them, not in drips and drabs.”

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Israel’s security cabinet backed President Trump’s threat, and Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a statement that if the hostages are not released by the deadline, they “will resume intense combat until Hamas is decisively defeated.”

On Thursday, Hamas announced it would free three more Israeli hostages as originally planned, according to the Associated Press.

Greg Norman contributed to this report.

February 13, 2025
Hamas says it will free more Israeli hostages on Saturday as originally planned

Hamas announced on Thursday it will free all Israeli hostages as originally planned, according to The Associated Press.

The move comes days after President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to the terrorist group threatening to end the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip if they did not release the hostages by Saturday, adding that he would “let all hell break out.”

TRUMP SAYS CEASEFIRE SHOULD BE CANCELED IF HOSTAGES AREN’T RELEASED BY SATURDAY

Hamas had threatened to delay freeing Israeli captives, accusing the Jewish State of failing to live up to obligations.

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This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

February 13, 2025
Israeli hostage’s mom tells Trump, Netanyahu her son could die if war resumes

Idit Ohel, the mother of Israeli hostage Alon Ohel, urgently pleaded for President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure the release of the remaining Oct. 7 captives held by Hamas amid fears the current ceasefire deal is disintegrating.

“They have no more time. And please don’t go back to war. Please. Because if that happens, if we go back to war, the hostages could die. The hostages that are alive could die,” she told Fox News Digital. “That’s what happened last time. Last time we saw that after the hostages came out and war started, so many hostages died and were murdered by Hamas. So we cannot let this happen. Please do everything in your power and do something for my son. He’s in the tunnels. He’s crying for help.”

Idit Ohel said she received confirmation that her son is still alive from released hostages Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, two of the three gaunt, frail-looking Israelis forced to speak Saturday during a Hamas hand-over ceremony in Gaza.

The mother said the released hostages, who were held with her son for part of their nearly 500 days in captivity, told her that Alon Ohel is unable to see out of an eye after being struck by shrapnel when Hamas was closing in on Oct. 7, 2023. Alon Ohel, a civilian, was attending the Nova music festival when terrorists attacked, and he took cover in a bomb shelter. Hamas pounded the shelter with grenades and gunfire, and he “was taken, wounded, with blood all over him,” Idit Ohel said.

ISRAEL SLAMS PALESTINIAN ‘DECEPTION SCHEME’ OVER CLAIM IT HALTED TERROR REWARDS PROGRAM

A placard of Alon Ohel seen during a rally marking his 24th birthday in Tel Aviv. (Eyal Warshavsky/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Alon Ohel’s ancestors survived the Holocaust, including his great-grandfather who weighed just 30 kilos [about 66 pounds] when he was released from the Auschwitz concentration camp, Idit Ohel said. “So if he was alive today, he would probably die instantly just knowing that his great-grandson in the year of 2025 is starving,” she said. “Alon has these genes. So he’s fighting. He’s fighting for his life every day.”

Under the deal, another three hostages were due to be released by next Saturday, but Hamas said Monday that the group would not let them go, accusing Israel of violating terms of the ceasefire agreement.

Concerns that fighting will resume are rising. Trump has since said that Hamas must release all remaining 76 hostages by noon Saturday, or he would demand the ceasefire deal be canceled and “let all hell break out.” Netanyahu backed the demand.

Israeli media is reporting that Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is being dispatched to Israel and Qatar this week to prevent the ceasefire deal from unraveling. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected in Israel on Saturday.

To Trump and Netayanhu directly, Idit Ohel said, “Do something and bring them home. Please. Please.”

Idit Ohel speaks to the crowd during a Tel Aviv rally marking the 24th Birthday of her son Alon Ohel who is held hostage by Hamas. (Eyal Warshavsky/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“Give him a chance. It’s unbearable. Something has to change. You have to do everything in your power to bring him home to me, to his family,” she said. “There’s still hostages alive. There’s still hostages alive. Please. Please, do something.”

Idit Ohel said she learned her son is being held in tunnels without medical attention and little food and has been “tortured, chained and starved.”

“It’s not humane. There’s so much food getting into Gaza, and he’s not getting any of it,” she said.

HAMAS SAYS IT’S DELAYING NEXT HOSTAGE RELEASE, CLAIMING CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS

“Alon, right now as we speak, is still being not fed, sleeping on the floor, being chained, constrained. So he cannot move for 494 days,” Idit Ohel said. “My son is important. My son is only an innocent civilian. He went to the Nova festival to have fun. He’s a pianist. He loves music. He did nothing wrong to nobody. We need to get him out now. He cannot continue. This is humanitarian.”

Days before Trump took office, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement. Former President Joe Biden said at the time that the first phase involved a “surge of humanitarian assistance into Gaza” – something Idit Ohel stressed her son is not getting.

She said the International Committee of the Red Cross “have never seen Alon and have never seen any of the hostages – [he] didn’t get any treatment.”

Israelis stand under placards with photos of hostages during a rally in Tel Aviv marking the 24th Birthday of Alon Ohel, who is held by Hamas in Gaza. (Eyal Warshavsky/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“Where is he? Why is he not coming?” Idit Ohel added. “I do not understand it. I will never understand it. This is wrong. This is not moral.”

Ohel rallied thousands in Tel Aviv over the weekend on her son’s 24th birthday – the second birthday he has spent in captivity since the Oct. 7 attacks.

“I wanted to say happy birthday to my son. I couldn’t even talk [to him] and see and hear his voice,” she said. “When I heard about his condition, I fainted … I haven’t been sleeping for days … I cannot control what Hamas is doing to my son.”

“Every mother in this world. Think just for a second. If there’s one night that your son or daughter doesn’t eat, you can’t even live with yourself,” Ohel added. “My son has not been getting food for 494 days.”

The mother also delivered a message directly to her son.

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“If you’re listening to me, you know I love you and your father loves you. And we’re doing everything in our power to make sure that you’re home alive. You’re coming home. And there’s so many people all over the world and in Israel that are with you and are praying for you,” Ohel said, asking fellow musicians to play songs in her son’s honor in the coming days. “And you are not alone, Alon. You are not alone.”

Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on X: @danimwallace.

February 13, 2025
Israeli cabinet backs Trump’s demand for Hamas to release all hostages

Israel’s security cabinet fully supports President Donald Trump’s demand that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas release all of its hostages by noon on Saturday or that “all hell is going to break out,” an Israeli official told Fox News.

The declaration comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security cabinet Tuesday after Hamas announced it is delaying the next release of Israeli hostages.

“The decision I passed in the Cabinet unanimously is this: If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon – the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will resume intense combat until Hamas is decisively defeated,” Netanyahu said in a statement following the meeting.

“In light of Hamas’ announcement of its decision to violate the agreement and not release our hostages, I instructed the IDF last night to amass forces inside and around the Gaza Strip. This operation is currently underway and will be completed as soon as possible,” Netanyahu added.

TRUMP SAYS CEASEFIRE SHOULD BE CANCELED IF HOSTAGES AREN’T RELEASED BY SATURDAY

Israeli captives, from left to the right, Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, who have been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, are escorted by Hamas fighters on a stage before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

“We also welcomed the President’s revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza,” Netanyahu said.

Trump said Monday if Hamas does not return all hostages by noon on Saturday, he will call for the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to be canceled and “let all hell break out.”

“If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel the ceasefire,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “Let all hell break out; Israel can override it.”

Trump stressed that Hamas needs to release “all of them — not in drips and drabs.”

“Saturday at 12pm and after that, I would say, all hell is going to break out,” Trump said.

Trump reiterated his demand on Tuesday and told reporters that he believes Hamas will listen to him.

ISRAEL SLAMS PALESTINIAN ‘DECEPTION SCHEME’ OVER CLAIM IT HALTED TERROR REWARDS PROGRAM

Israeli soldiers gather by the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Tuesday, Feb.11. (AP/Ariel Schalit)

A Hamas spokesperson said Monday that the terrorist group will delay the next planned release of hostages in the Gaza Strip after accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement.

“Over the past three weeks, the resistance leadership has monitored the enemy’s violations and failure to fulfill its obligations under the agreement; including the delay in allowing the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, targeting them with direct shelling and gunfire in various areas across Gaza, and denying relief supplies of all kinds to enter as agreed, while the resistance has implemented all its obligations,” Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, said.

Israel and Hamas are in the midst of a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas has committed to releasing 33 hostages captured in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Displaced Palestinians, carrying their belongings in vehicles, wait at a security checkpoint in the Netzarim corridor while traveling from central Gaza to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Feb. 11. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

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The sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire went into effect last month, freeing 21 hostages and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners. The next exchange, scheduled for next Saturday, calls for three more Israeli hostages to be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Fox News’ Yael Rotem-Kuriel, Brooke Singman, Danielle Wallace, Yonat Friling and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

February 11, 2025
Parents of American murdered by Hamas ask Trump to get 76 hostages left home

The parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American kidnapped from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and murdered by Hamas terrorists after surviving 11 months in captivity, made a video plea to President Donald Trump after the latest hostage release.

In a video message shared on Instagram, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin reacted to the release of civilians Eli Sharabi, 52; Or Levy, 34, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56. They were among the 250 people who were taken during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli hostages were forced to speak during a Hamas handover ceremony, igniting outrage, as Israel in turn released nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday.

“We received the wonderful news that Eli, Or and Ohad we released today,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin said in a video shared to the “Bring.Hersh.Home” account, which has garnered more than 173,000 followers. “We also felt this real connection to Or and his family because Or and Hersh were both kidnapped together from the same bomb shelter on the same pickup truck on Oct. 7. And in fact, Or’s brother, Mikha’el, contacted us right after Shabbat today to tell us that one of Or’s first questions he asked his brother this morning was ‘how is Hersh doing?’ Because he had assumed that Hersh had been released long ago, and his brother had to explain to him that Hersh had been murdered five months ago.”

Jon Polin then addressed Trump, as well as U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, imploring them to secure the release of the remaining 76 hostages this week.

HAMAS FREES 3 MORE HOSTAGES AS PART OF CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT WITH ISRAEL

Israeli captives, from left to the right, Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, who have been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, are escorted by Hamas before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

“Seeing the condition of these three hostages, hearing that Or had no idea what happened to Hersh, that Eli was unaware of the fate of his wife and his daughters, is just a gut punch to all of us that we need to do more,” Jon Polin said. “And I’m turning directly to President Trump and to Mr. Witkoff, you have shown that you are the only ones who are able to get this situation moving, moving forward, and my plea to you, our plea to you right now is – now that you’ve done the hard part in getting movement, getting a deal started, let’s not think about Phase 1 and Phase 2 and Phase 3 in many months. 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. Thank you.”

“Godspeed,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin added.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages were murdered by Hamas terrorists last August shortly before Israeli troops reached the tunnel where they were being held in southern Gaza. Israeli troops recovered the six bodies from the tunnel, and Israeli forensic experts said they had been shot at close range after surviving nearly a year in captivity.

Israeli captive Or Levy, who has been held hostage in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Goldberg-Polin, a native of Berkeley, California, was attending a music festival when Hamas-led terrorists stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. He lost part of his left arm to a grenade blast during the attack. In April, a Hamas-issued video showed him speaking under duress with his left hand missing, sparking new protests in Israel.

TRUMP UNVEILS SANCTIONS AGAINST INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT FOR NETANYAHU ARREST WARRANT

In their first hours as free men, the three Israeli hostages released on Saturday were beginning to confront the tragic realities to which they returned

Sharabi returned to Israel after 16 months of captivity. He was told only after his return that his wife and two daughters had been killed in the Oct. 7 attack, according to reports in Israeli media.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin was murdered by Hamas. (Israel’s Minister of Defense)

Levy “was not sure” what happened to his wife on that day, his mother, Geula, told Israeli media on Saturday, adding that he was not exposed to media reports while in Gaza. Levy was taken from a bomb shelter near the Nova music festival in southern Israel and his wife, Einav, was killed in the attack. His mother said he also asked about Goldberg-Polin, who was abducted from the same bomb shelter. Levy was reunited Saturday with his 3-year-old son.

A third released hostage, Ben Ami, sat huddled with his wife and three daughters in a hospital corridor. He told them: “I have a lot of things to catch up on.” Ben Ami is a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the hardest hit communities on Oct. 7. “I need to get answers to a lot of things, and I know some of them will be difficult answers,” he said in footage released by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office. “I need to know what happened on that day.”

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It was the fifth swap of hostages for prisoners since the current Israel-Hamas ceasefire began on Jan. 19.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on X: @danimwallace.

February 9, 2025
Hamas frees 3 more hostages as part of ceasefire agreement with Israel

Hamas released three more hostages on Saturday in exchange for dozens of Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire deal reached with Israel.

Or Levy, 34; Eli Sharabi, 52; Ohad Ben Ami, 56, were released by Hamas after they were abducted during the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel that prompted the war in Gaza.

The trio were released from Deir al-Balah in the central part of the Gaza Strip. The hostages arrived at the hand-over point in a Hamas vehicle.

TRUMP UNVEILS SANCTIONS AGAINST INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT FOR NETANYAHU ARREST WARRANT

This combination of undated photos provided by Hostages Family Forum shows Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami, all of whom were abducted and brought to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. (Hostages Family Forum via AP)

THE HISTORY OF GAZA AMID TRUMP’S PLAN TO REBUILD ENCLAVE

Red Cross vehicles also arrived at the location.

This was the fifth time since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19 that Hamas released hostages in exchange for prisoners. Eighteen hostages and more than 550 Palestinian prisoners have been released thus far.

Hamas fighters take up positions ahead of a hostage release in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday Feb. 8, 2025. (AP)

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The ceasefire paused the 15-month war in Gaza sparked by Hamas’ attack on the Jewish State, leading to military retaliation from Israeli forces.

Fox News’ Yael Rotem-Kuriel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

February 8, 2025
Netanyahu: ‘No future’ in Gaza unless ‘Hamas destroyed’ amid concern for hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday warned that the only way Gaza can see a peaceful future is if Hamas is “destroyed,” though the tough rhetoric out of Washington this week has hostage families, and at least one former hostage, concerned that it could jeopardize the safe return of the hostages still held by the terrorist group.

“I was deeply moved by the reception that we got, the substantive things that we discussed, making sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon, and also making sure that Hamas is destroyed,” Netanyahu said in reference to his meetings with President Trump and lawmakers on the Hill. “We’re not going to have a future for Gaza or for a future for peace in our part of the world if Hamas remains there.”

Netanyahu’s comments came just three days after Trump sent geopolitical shockwaves by announcing his supposed plans for the U.S. to “take over” the Gaza Strip and called for the mass removal of millions of Palestinians living there.

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President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Trump has promised there will be “hell to pay” if hostages being held by Hamas are not released prior to when he takes office on Jan. 20. (AP/Sebastian Scheiner)

Netanyahu, who spoke alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson from the U.S. Capitol and championed their “warm personal bond,” did not take any questions from the press.

Hamas, along with dozens of other nations in the Middle East and across the globe, not only rejected the plans but on Friday delayed the release of names for the next round of hostages set to be freed on Saturday under the agreements of the ceasefire deal.

Following an hours-long delay, Hamas on Friday said it would release Eli Sharabi, 52, Or Levy, 34, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56, the Times of Israel reported.

Sharabi was taken from Kibbutz Beeri while his wife and daughters were killed in their safe room. Levy was taken from the Supernova music festival where his wife was killed. Ami was taken alongside his wife from Kibbutz Beeri, and his wife Raz Ben Ami was freed in the November 2023 hostage deal.

The delay came as reports suggested that families of the hostages still held in Gaza, as well as mediators involved in the ceasefire talks, have grown concerned the comments coming from the Trump-Netanyahu meeting could derail the continued release of hostages.

Just 13 of the 33 hostages slated to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire have been freed.

At least eight of the hostages scheduled to be returned during the first 42 days were confirmed by the IDF to have been killed while in Hamas activity, though the fates of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel who was four years old when he was abducted alongside his brother Kfir, who was nine months old, remain unknown despite claims by Hamas that they were killed by an Israeli airstrike.

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The Bibas family, from left: Yarden, Ariel, Shiri, and Kfir. (Ofri Bibas Levy)

At least nine hostages are still believed to be alive who are scheduled to be released in the first round, while the release of the remaining 65 hostages, at least 26 of whom are believed to also have been killed, will be negotiated for release following the initial 42-day period.

Reports have indicated that officials are still set to travel to Qatar on Saturday to begin negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire – a process that was delayed one week.

A spokesman for Netanyahu on Friday said that the prime minister views Hamas’ delay in releasing the names of the hostages intended to be released on Saturday as “serious” and a “violation” of the ceasefire agreement.

The prime minister’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that he will be monitoring the fifth hostage release scheduled for Saturday from Washington, D.C., where he will remain through the weekend.

Hamas has named Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel and Ofer Kalderon as the next three hostages to be released. (The Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

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Reports this week suggested that Netanyahu had presented Trump with a plan to end the war in Gaza in exchange for assurances from Hamas that it would relinquish its power in the war-torn region and that its leaders would go into exile.

Netanyahu’s office denied these claims to Fox News Digital.

Caitlin McFall is a Reporter at Fox News Digital covering Politics, U.S. and World news.

February 7, 2025