'Crime against humanity' – Israeli leaders express outrage as released hostages like 'Holocaust survivors'

After seeing the emaciated condition of the three hostages who returned to Israel on Saturday, Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami, many Israeli leaders reacted to their malnourished condition, calling for the destruction of Hamas.

The three hostages looked emaciated and unsteady on their feet during their release by the Hamas terror group. An initial report by the Ministry of Health found that the three suffered from "severe malnutrition" with significant loss of body mass during their captivity.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a message to social media before boarding his flight back to Israel.

“Or, Eli and Ohad returned home today,” Netanyahu posted on 𝕏. “Sarah and I hug them, and their precious families. We have seen again what monsters Hamas are. These are the same monsters who slaughtered our citizens and abused our hostages. And I tell them again: their blood is on their heads.”

Netanyahu also promised to return the rest of the hostages.

“We will do everything to return all our hostages. We will ensure their safety. This is the instruction I gave to the delegation – to tell the mediators this, and to demand it,” he continued. “We will eliminate Hamas, and we will return our hostages.”

President Isaac Herzog said the footage of the hostages showed "what a crime against humanity looks like."

"This is what a crime against humanity looks like!" Herzog posted to 𝕏. "The whole world must look directly at Ohad, Or, and Eli – returning after 491 days of hell, starved, emaciated and pained – being exploited in a cynical and cruel spectacle by vile murderers. We take solace in the fact that they are being returned alive to the arms of their loved ones."

Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon called on UN Sec.-Gen. António Guterres to push for the "unconditional release" of all remaining hostages, saying the treatment of the three "is clear evidence of Hamas’s war crimes and blatant violations of international law."

As a result of the severe physical condition of Or, Eli, and Ohad, who were released earlier today from Hamas captivity, I urgently appealed to the UN Secretary-General to condemn Hamas's cruel and inhumane treatment of the hostages and to demand the unconditional release of all… pic.twitter.com/tCQAuTTb8o
— Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) February 9, 2025

Benny Gantz, head of the opposition party, National Unity, said in an interview, “We are releasing fat prisoners but our hostages are returning in a terrible condition.”

Gantz called on Netanyahu to ensure the release of all the remaining hostages.

“Netanyahu’s commitment is to return the hostages. The hostages have to come back now, as soon as possible, everyone. This is Netanyahu's responsibility, and I expect him to fulfill it.”

Knesset Member Gadi Eisenkot, also from the National Unity party, wrote on social media, "The scenes are harsh and unimaginable – this is another harsh testimony to the heavy costs of waiting and postponing."

He called on the government to continue the ceasefire deal until all hostages are released.

"The Israeli government approved Netanyahu's plan, which includes three stages for the return of the hostages – all of them!" Eisenkot wrote. "Its duty is clearer than ever, in the face of the shocking images this morning, to give a clear and unequivocal mandate to the delegation that will leave for Qatar today, to shorten the time it takes to implement it, to bear a default price of October 7, and to stop the unbearable price that Israeli citizens are paying every day, minute by minute, in the midst of life risk and extreme suffering."

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called on world leaders to see the reality exposed by the poor condition of the hostages.

“In the wake of the harsh images of our hostages who returned today from Hamas captivity, I sent a clear and sharp message today to my counterparts in foreign ministries around the world: ‘Look at these pictures – how many times have you talked about famine in the Gaza Strip? Who is seen in the pictures starving? Who is seen as malnourished? Terrorists? Residents of Gaza? Or our abductees? Only them [hostages]. They look like Holocaust survivors. Hamas's Nazi evil must be eradicated.”

Sa’ar also released a video on 𝕏, accusing Hamas of “committing crimes against humanity.”

The images that we saw today don't lie. The terrorists and Gazan residents look perfectly fine. The hostages look like Holocaust survivors. They are the only ones that have been starved! pic.twitter.com/UO1nwhcMMJ
— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) February 8, 2025

Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also commented on the condition of the hostages.

“Extending a warm embrace to the Ben Ami, Sharabi and Levy families, upon the return of Ohad, Eli and Or to Israel,” Gallant wrote on 𝕏. “The horrific images exposed today, reflect the poor conditions and the suffering of many of the hostages.”

Extending a warm embrace to the Ben Ami, Sharabi and Levy families, upon the return of Ohad, Eli and Or to Israel.

The horrific images exposed today, reflect the poor conditions and the suffering of many of the hostages.

This is a stark reminder of the mission we must remain…
— יואב גלנט - Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) February 8, 2025

“We will continue striking the genocidal Hamas organization and their murderous members. I pray for the swift return of the hostages – may they all be reunited with their loved ones,” Gallant continued.

Former National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who resigned his position and took his party out of the coalition over the hostage release ceasefire deal, posted a message on 𝕏: “This is a holocaust. Encourage voluntary immigration [sic - emigration] now. We don't have time!”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also posted a message on 𝕏, calling the images of the released hostages “heartbreaking,” while also saying comparisons to the Holocaust are a mistake.

“The suffering of our hostages in Hamas' brutal captivity is heartbreaking. But comparisons to the Holocaust are a grave mistake and are based on the contempt for the Holocaust. There was only one Holocaust, and nothing, no matter how terrible, compares to it,” Smotrich wrote.

He called for the complete elimination of Hamas and all those connected to it from the Gaza Strip.

“Aside from the importance of returning all the kidnapped, Hamas and everyone and everything connected to it in the Gaza Strip and outside it must be destroyed and wiped off the face of the earth so that there will not be a single person on earth who would think of kidnapping Jews and treating them this way again.”