Netanyahu vows to take ‘appropriate action’ after hostages return in emaciated condition

FM Gideon Sa’ar: ‘Hamas terrorists and Gaza residents appear well-fed, while the Israeli hostages resemble Holocaust survivors.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement on Saturday, declaring that “appropriate action” will be taken in response to the emaciated condition of three male hostages freed from Hamas captivity.

Hostages Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami were released Saturday after 491 days in captivity.

After medical staff at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center and Sheba Medical Center examined the freed hostages, they concluded that the men had lost around 30% of their body weight.

The hostages, who had to be supported while walking and standing by Hamas terrorists, were forced to speak to a crowd in Gaza before being handed over to the Red Cross.

Netanyahu, who is currently visiting officials in Washington, D.C., released a statement welcoming the hostages’ release but expressing outrage over their condition.

“The Israeli government welcomes the hostages’ return, confirming to their families that they are now in the care of our forces,” the statement read.

Reacting to images of the freed hostages in their starved condition, Netanyahu added, “The shocking images that we have seen today will not go unaddressed.”

The PMO also stated, “Given the critical condition of the three hostages and Hamas’s repeated violations, Prime Minister Netanyahu has ordered that this not be overlooked and that appropriate action be taken.”

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum compared the sight of the emaciated hostages to images of Jewish prisoners liberated from Nazi death camps during the Holocaust.

“The shocking images of Ohad, Eli, and Or expose the harrowing impact of 491 days in Hamas captivity. These men have endured unimaginable suffering—this is a crime against humanity,” the Hostage and Missing Families Forum stated.

“These distressing images lay bare to the world the desperate plight of every hostage still held in Gaza. They evoke painful echoes of the liberation of the camps in 1945, the darkest chapter in our history.”

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar criticized the global focus on the plight of Gazans while ignoring the condition of the hostages.

He wrote on X, “For over a year, the international community has been misled by false claims of ‘starvation’ in Gaza.”

“But the images speak for themselves: Hamas terrorists and Gaza residents appear well-fed, while the Israeli hostages resemble Holocaust survivors—the only ones visibly suffering from starvation,” he continued.

“Hamas has committed crimes against humanity against kidnapped civilians. This Hamas-Nazi evil must be eliminated.”