Hamas releases three Israeli hostages
By Nathan Morley
In Gaza, Hamas handed over three Israeli hostages to the Red Cross. They have been identified as Alexander Troufanov, Yair Horn and Sagui Dekel-Chen, who were kidnapped by Hamas during the attack on Israel in October 2023.
Dekel-Chen, 36, is a U.S. citizen, Troufanov, 29, is an Israeli and Russian citizen, and Horn, 46, is an Israeli and Argentine citizen. The release was carried out as part of the ceasefire agreement.
Meanwhile, Israel is releasing 369 Palestinian prisoners in return - some have arrived in the West Bank and more are expected in Gaza later.
Ceasefire agreement continues
This is the sixth prisoner exchange since the ceasefire between the parties came into effect on January 19. The continuation of the ceasefire, which has now lasted about four weeks, was in jeopardy earlier this week when Hamas threatened to freeze the release of hostages due to alleged ceasefire violations by Israel.
Israel, in turn, said it would resume fighting if the hostages were not released.
Negotiations are currently underway to implement the second phase of the ceasefire. Previously, Hamas has released 21 hostages and Israel has released over 730 Palestinian prisoners.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has increased its presence in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.
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