Israeli hostages released Saturday brought back 'signs of life' to families of others still held in Gaza

The three Israeli hostages released in the most recent exchange - Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami - brought back information about other hostages held with them, including several for whom Israel had received no signs of life since Oct. 7, 2023.

One of the released hostages was able to provide the first 'sign of life' for the family of Alon Ohel, who was kidnapped from the Nova festival near Kibbutz Re’im on Oct. 7.

The family of Eliya Cohen also said they received a 'sign of life' from the returning hostages.

Cohen was kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova festival. His family shared that they were told he has been held in chains throughout his captivity.

“We know that they have been tied up in chains from the day they were kidnapped until today, which is unimaginable,” Eliya’s mother Sigalit Cohen told Ynet News.

The hostages who returned described torture and a policy of forced starvation during their captivity, both for themselves and for several of the other hostages whom they had seen while in captivity. 

On Tuesday, Kibbutz Kfar Aza revealed that the family of twin hostages Gali and Ziv Berman had received a 'sign of life' of the two brothers, who were kidnapped from Kfar Aza during the Oct. 7 atrocities. “We are taking a breath on one hand, but we know whose hands they are in and how much danger their lives are in,” the family said in a statement to media. 

“We are taking a breath on one hand, but we know whose hands they are in and how much danger their lives are in,” the family said in a statement to media. 

Several of the men within the age of reserve military duty in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are being held by Hamas or other terror groups, and are not slated for release during the first phase of the hostage release ceasefire deal.

Based on the reports of the returning hostages, these men are being held in worse conditions than the women and older male hostages. 

The aunt of Yosef-Chaim Ohana, one of those hostages, told Ynet that the family received a 'sign of life' based on information from the returning hostages on Saturday. 

“We have a clear indication that he is alive,” she said. 

She said the family is deeply worried after seeing the condition of Levy, Sharabi, and Ben Ami. 

“When we saw the people who came back last Saturday, it broke us even more than we are already broken. The feelings are not simple at all,” she stated. “Yosef-Chaim is a strong man – but even his strength has limits.” 

The brother of hostage Omri Miran, Nadav, also announced they had received a recent 'sign of life' regarding Omri. 

"One of the kidnapped who returned in one of the last exchanges said that he was with Omri in the tunnels and apartments until July. It is not clear why they were separated at that stage. Overall, his condition is fine. Apparently, he is physically fine," Nadav told Hebrew site Walla. 

Omri was previously seen in a video released by Hamas in April 2024, which depicted now-released hostage Keith Siegel and Miran. The family had not heard anything else since then. 

“With these human animals, anything can happen; the fact that they were in okay conditions until July does not mean that things did not change for the worse for them after that point. Seven months have passed, that is a long time,” Nadav commented. “We are concerned.” 

Omri’s wife, Lishay Miran-Lavi has regularly spoken out for him at hostage events, as has his brother-in-law Moshe Lavi, who has appeared on several news sites and spoken to political leaders around the world, advocating for the hostages. 

This difficult and painful morning, I gave three interviews, urging policymakers to complete the mission of bringing every hostage home.

We owe it to them—every day in captivity feels like eternity. They can't wait any longer.

Watch my interview on @ABCNewsLive below: pic.twitter.com/TPC08ZJieA

— Moshe Emilio Lavi (@MosheELavi) February 8, 2025

Hagai Angerst, the father of the abducted soldier Matan Angrest, said on Wednesday afternoon that the family had also received a 'sign of life'. The testimony they received is that Matan is alive, but is wounded and held in difficult conditions. 

Anat Angrest, Matan's mother said he was wounded in the attacks on Oct. 7, and apparently did not receive treatment for his injuries.

“We heard that he is being held there in difficult conditions because he is a soldier, and we do not know what the long-term consequences of this injury are,” she told Channel 12.