Hamas freed three Israeli hostages on Saturday in return for 369 Palestinian prisoners under the fragile truce, AFP reported. The hostages were transferred to the Red Cross after being paraded in front of a huge crowd in the Gaza Strip.
Public Display Before Release
The three hostages—Israeli-American Sagui Dekel-Chen, Israeli-Russian Sasha Trupanov, and Israeli-Argentinian Yair Horn—were brought on a stage in the southern Gazan city of Khan Yunis. They were forced to speak to the crowd before being handed over.
Dozens of Hamas militants encircled the stage, where the logo of the group’s military wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, was displayed. Palestinian nationalist songs were heard in the background, and some 200 militants were said to have been deployed for the handover ceremony.
Truce Nearly Broke Down
This is the sixth hostage release since the truce started on January 19. The swap was carried out despite concerns that the Israel-Hamas deal was about to fall apart last week. Both sides, however, confirmed on Friday that Saturday’s swap would go ahead as scheduled.
A Hamas official said on Friday that the group anticipated negotiations on a second stage of the ceasefire to start early next week.
October 7 Attack and Its Impact
The hostages had been under the captivity of Hamas for October 7, 2023, when the organization had attacked Israel unexpectedly. The attack left approximately 1,200 people dead and abducted at least 240 people. Southern Israel was infiltrated by armed combatants who killed civilians randomly.
Israel then initiated a military campaign in Gaza, which resulted in continued hostilities.
