From the moment they stepped from the Hamas vehicle, to be seen alive for the first time in 15 and a half months, the three hostages were clearly gaunt and in poor health.
Reports in Israel say they have lost up to 30% of their body weight and they are in a bad medical condition.
Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy looked much frailer than any of the hostages released previously during this phase of the ceasefire. Their time in captivity has obviously been punishing.
Like previous hostage releases, they were humiliatingly paraded on stage but this time interviewed in front of the crowd, in a propaganda stunt for Hamas.
Benjamin Netanyahu has reacted angrily, promising a response. The Israeli president has described it as a crime against humanity and the IDF point man for the hostages has accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement.
And yet, despite the shocking condition of the three men, it’s not clear how the ceasefire has been breached or what the Israeli government can do about it.
As both Yoav Gallant (former defence minister) and Yair Lapid (opposition leader) have tweeted, it is no surprise that some of the hostages are in this state.
They have been kept in tunnels and above ground, constantly moved during heavy fighting, and presumably had little access to food, as many Gazans faced during the months of war.
Any action by the Israeli government could threaten the ceasefire and therefore the release of more hostages. As the hostage families forum has said, the most important thing is freeing all the captives and getting them home.
Many of the Palestinian prisoners are also returning home looking painfully thin and with stories of being beaten in detention. One prisoner had to be carried off the Red Cross bus by a medic from the Palestinian Red Crescent earlier today.
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Israel too is using this release day for its own propaganda purposes. The Palestinian prisoners released today say they were forced to watch a video of the destruction of Gaza before they were freed.
