Jerusalem/Gaza, Feb 15 The Palestinian militant groups on Saturday released three more Israeli hostages held in Gaza, while Israeli authorities freed 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange.
The freed Israeli hostages are Alexandre Sasha Troufanov, a 29-year-old Israeli-Russian citizen; Sagui Dekel-Chen, a 36-year-old Israeli-American citizen; and Iair Horn, a 46-year-old Israeli-Argentine citizen. They were kidnapped during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Troufanov was kidnapped along with his mother, grandmother, and partner, and the three women were released in a previous hostage deal in November 2023. His father was killed on the day of the kidnapping.
Dekel-Chen, a father of three, had a daughter born after his abduction. Horn's brother, Eitan, remains in captivity in Gaza.
Shortly after they arrived in Israel, the first bus carrying freed Palestinian prisoners and detainees departed Israel's Ofer jail in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Among the 369 Palestinians released Saturday from the Israeli jail were 36 serving life sentences, and 333 detainees arrested by Israel from the Gaza Strip following the October 7 attack.
One of the most prominent prisoners freed was Ahmed Barghouti, 48, a close aide to Marwan Barghouti, a leader of the First and Second Intifadas.
This was the sixth such exchange following days of tense negotiations that threatened to undo the precarious ceasefire.
Hamas had initially intended to delay the scheduled hostage release, citing Israeli violations of the agreement. In response, Israel threatened to resume its onslaught on Gaza if hostages were not released by Saturday noon, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Thursday Hamas said 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.
Under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, effective since Jan. 19 and spanning six weeks, 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinians. So far, 19 Israeli hostages, along with five Thais, have been released from Gaza, while Israeli authorities have released over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
In a statement immediately after the handover, Hamas described the release of the hostages as "a confirmation that there is no way to release them except through negotiations and by adhering to the requirements of the ceasefire agreement."
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister said in a statement that Hamas had backed down and the hostage release continued "thanks to the concentration of our forces in and around the Gaza Strip, and thanks to the clear and unequivocal statement of US President Donald Trump."
Trump warned on Monday that if the hostages in Gaza were not freed by noon on Saturday, the truce would be called off, and he would "let hell break out."
--IANS
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