Trump: 'Released hostages looked like Holocaust survivors'

Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami, and Eli Sharabi appeared on Saturday morning, looking very frail with sunken faces, leading to comparisons with those

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF FEBRUARY 10, 2025 00:43 Updated: FEBRUARY 10, 2025 00:44

(L-R) Ohad Ben Ami, Or Levy, and Eli Sharabi, released from Hamas captivty, February 8, 2025. (photo credit: Canva, REUTERS/Ramadan Abed)

The three hostages released from their captivity in Gaza after nearly 500 days "looked like Holocaust survivors," according to US President Donald Trump on Sunday evening.

Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami, and Eli Sharabi appeared on Saturday morning, looking very frail with sunken faces, and received many similar comments on both social media and from Israeli government officials.

טראמפ על אלי, אוהד ואור: "הם נראו כמו שורדי שואה, לא יודע כמה זמן נוכל לסבול את זה"@nathanguttman @itamargalit pic.twitter.com/YjuKzAKAwj

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) February 9, 2025

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) stated that "the shocking images that we have seen today will not go unaddressed."

President Isaac Herzog added, "This is what a crime against humanity looks like!"

The Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing, Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch stated that Israel views Hamas' "repeated violations" with "grave concern" and the condition of the hostages "with even greater concern," adding that "this will not go unaddressed" in a statement posted on PMO's official X/Twitter account.

For over a year, the entire international community has danced to the tune of the false propaganda of so-called ‘starvation’ in Gaza.But the images don’t lie:Hamas terrorists and other Gaza residents look perfectly fine.The Israeli hostages look like Holocaust survivors and… pic.twitter.com/5wbDcztmtg

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) February 8, 2025

Sa'ar's statements

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar commented that the "entire international community has danced to the tune of the false propaganda of so-called ‘starvation’ in Gaza." comparing criticism of Israel's humanitarian aid levels to the treatment of Israeli hostages by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists.

"The images don't lie," Sa'ar added, explicitly stating that Levy, Ben Ami, and Sharabi looked like "Holocaust survivors" and "are the only ones...who clearly appear to have suffered from starvation."