Hamas militants release 3 male Israeli hostages

The hostages had been abducted from the Kibbutz Nir Oz community in 2023

Hamas-led militants released three male Israeli hostages on Saturday and Israeli forces began releasing hundreds of prisoners in return. This was the latest indication that a fragile ceasefire has paused fighting in the Gaza Strip but had teetered in recent days, is holding. Militants in the southern Gaza Strip paraded the three hostages—Iair Horn, 46, a dual citizen of Israel and Argentina; American-Israeli Sagui Dekel Chen, 36; and Russian-Israeli Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29— before a crowd before releasing them.

All had been abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community that was hard-hit in the October 7 2023, attack that ignited the war. They appeared pale and worn, but seemed in better physical condition than the three men released last Saturday, who had emerged emaciated after 16 months of captivity. The truce that began nearly four weeks ago had been jeopardised in recent days by a tense dispute that threatened to renew the fighting. US President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to remove more than 2 million Palestinians from Gaza and settle them elsewhere in the region has cast even more doubt on the future of the ceasefire.

But Hamas said on Thursday that it would move ahead with the release of more hostages after talks with Egyptian and Qatari officials. The group said the mediators had pledged to “remove all hurdles” to ensure Israel would allow more tents, medical supplies and other essentials into Gaza.

In return for the hostages’ release, Israel began releasing 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including 36 serving life sentences over deadly attacks. A bus carrying the first released prisoners arrived in the occupied West Bank town of Beitunia and were greeted by a cheering crowd of relatives and supporters. Some appeared gaunt, and the Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said four were immediately taken for medical treatment. It is the sixth swap since the ceasefire took effect on January 19. Before Saturday, 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners were freed during the first phase of the truce.

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