The activists led by Hamas published three male Israeli hostages on Saturday and Israeli forces released hundreds of prisoners in return, in the last indication that a ceasefire that had fired in recent days.
Activists in the South Gaza Strip paraded the three hostages – IAIR HORN, 46, a double citizen of Israel and Argentina; American-Israeli Sagui Dekel Chen, 36 years old; And Alexander Russian -Israeli (Sasha) Troufanov, 29 years old – before a crowd before freeing them. They were transported to Israel to find their families and receive a medical assessment in a hospital.
All had been removed from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community that was touched in the attack on October 7, 2023, which sparked the conflict. They seemed pale and worn, but seemed in better physical condition than the three men released last Saturday, who emerged emerged by 16 months of captivity.
A tense dispute had endangered the truce of almost four weeks in recent days and threatened to renew the fighting.
The controversial proposal of the American president Donald Trump to withdraw more than 2 million Palestinians from Gaza and to settle them elsewhere in the region has put even more doubt about the future of the ceasefire.
But Hamas said Thursday that this would advance with the release of more hostages after interviews with Egyptian and Qatari officials. The group said the mediators have committed to “suppress all obstacles” to ensure that Israel would authorize more tents, medical supplies and other essential elements in Gaza.
As with previous exchanges, the hostage release was strongly choreographed, the captives made to walk on a scene and speak in the microphones in front of the crowd. Dozens of masked and armed fighters from Hamas have lined up near the scalloped scene of Palestinian flags and banners of militant factions.
In the hostages of Tel Aviv Square, a huge acclamation increased while the hostages were transferred to the Red Cross. “Iiir, Sagui and Sasha are on the way back!” An advertiser said.
In exchange for the release of the hostages, Israel began to release 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
A bus carrying the first released prisoners arrived in the western city of the Beitunia West Bank and was greeted by an acclaiming crowd of parents and supporters. Some seemed emaciated, and the Palestinian Emergency Service of the Red Crescent said that four had been immediately taken for medical treatment.
Most of the liberated people were transported to Gaza, where a large crowd welcomed them to Khan Younis, the same city where the hostages had been published a few hours earlier.
This is the sixth exchange since the ceasefire entered into force on January 19. Before Saturday, 21 hostages and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners were released during the first phase of the truce.
Who are the hostages and the released prisoners?
Horn was kidnapped with his brother, Eitan Horn, who had stayed with him at the time. Eitan, 37, remains in captivity and is not on the list of hostages that should be published in the first stage of the ceasefire.
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“Now we can breathe a little. Our IAIR is at home after surviving hell in Gaza, “his family said in a statement. “Now we have to bring Eitan back so that our family can really breathe.”
Dekel Chen had worked outside when activists stormed the Kibbutz. His pregnant wife, Avital Dekel Chen, hid in a safe room with their two daughters. She gave birth to their third daughter two months later. Addressing Israeli media on Saturday, she said that she was overwhelmed with happiness to see Sagui in Israel, where he will meet his youngest daughter, Sharchar, for the first time.
Troufanov, whose father was killed during the October 7 attack, was taken hostage with his grandmother, his mother and his girlfriend. The three women were released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023. Troufanov was informed of the death of his father after his release, shortly before being united with his family, who said that ‘They were “overwhelmed by emotion and gratitude” when it crossed Israeli territory.
Released Palestinian prisoners included 36 perpetuity in perpetuity for deadly attacks against the Israelis.
Among the most important Figure Ahmed Barghouti, 48, a close assistant of militant leader and emblematic Palestinian political figure Marwan Barghouti.
Israel condemned Ahmed Barghouti to life for sending suicide bombers during the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising, in the early 2000s to carry out attacks that killed Israeli civilians. He was arrested alongside Marwan Barghouti in 2002.
Twenty-four perpetuity sentences were to be exiled abroad, while 12 were returned to the West Bank and occupying Jerusalem.
The 333 others were returned to Gaza, from where they had been detained. As part of the ceasefire, Israel has committed to release more than 1,000 of the detainees from Gaza provided they did not participate in the October 7 attack.
Concerns are high concerning the state of the remaining hostages
Of the 251 people kidnapped during the October 7 attack, 73 remain in Gaza, about half of which would have died. Almost all remaining hostages are men, including Israeli soldiers.
The concern increased about their state, especially after the release of three last Saturday, which emerged emaciated and fragile.
One of them, Keith Siegel, 65, told Trump on Friday in a video message that his kidnappers treated him worse while the 15 -month conflict intensified, kicking him, spitting him and holding it without water or light.
The truce remains fragile
The ceasefire seemed dangerously close to the collapse in recent days.
Hamas said that it would delay the release of hostages after accused Israel of not joining their agreement by not authorizing shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment to clean the rubble. Israel said that it would take up the fighting on Saturday unless the hostages are released.
Although the immediate crisis may have been avoided, the truce faces a much greater challenge with the first phase of the agreement that ends in early March. There have not yet been substantial negotiations during the second phase, in which Hamas would release all the remaining hostages in exchange for the end of the conflict.
At its peak, the fighting moved 90% of the Gaza population of 2.3 million inhabitants. Hundreds of thousands have since returned home while the ceasefire settles, although many have found that rubble, buried human remains and unploded ammunition.
The conflict killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, mainly women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, which does not say how many fighters were. Israel says he killed more than 17,000 activists, without providing evidence.
Trump’s plan increases uncertainty
Trump’s proposal to withdraw some 2 million Palestinians from Gaza and settle them elsewhere in the region has questioned the future of the truce.
The idea was greeted by the Israeli government. But he was strongly rejected by the Palestinians and the Arab countries. Human rights groups say this could constitute a war crime under international law.
Trump proposed that once the fights at the end, Israel would transfer control of Gaza to the United States, which would rearrange it as the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
The far -right allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu already call for a resumption of the conflict after the first phase in order to destroy Hamas and to implement Trump’s plan. The militant group remains in control of the territory after having survived one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history.
Hamas may not want to release other hostages if it believes that the conflict will resume. The captives are among the only negotiation tokens he left.