Held hostage in a tunnel under Gaza for nearly 500 days, Or Levy – starved of sunlight, unable to stand up straight, not knowing whether his wife was dead or alive – would often watch, hungry, as his Hamas captors ate the food he was denied.

The six Israelis were the last living captives set to be released in the first phase of the cease-fire. The agreement, strained for weeks, has an uncertain future.

Hamas is set to free six more Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip. The release scheduled for Saturday would also involve freeing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.