Hostage Negotiations Progress as Hamas Releases Three More in Ceasefire Deal with Israel
Hamas has released three more hostages in exchange for over 300 Palestinian prisoners as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel. Approximately 70 hostages remain in Hamas custody.
Hamas released three more hostages on Saturday in exchange for more than 300 Palestinian prisoners as part of the delicate ceasefire agreement reached with Israel.
The hostages released were Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29; Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, and Yair Horn, 46. Troufanov has Israeli and Russian citizenship, Dekel-Chen is an American-Israeli and Horn is a dual citizen of Israel and Argentina.
The three were abducted by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz in the terror group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel that sparked the war in Gaza now under ceasefire.
The Palestinian prisoners were freed from Israeli jails as part of the sensitive ceasefire agreement, which has continued to hold even after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened that "all hell is going to break out" if Hamas does not release all the remaining hostages this week. Trump has also said he is committed to the U.S. purchasing and taking over Gaza and resettling Palestinians elsewhere.
About 70 hostages remain in Hamas custody. Nearly all the remaining hostages, including Israeli soldiers, are men and about half are believed to be dead.
In the first phase of the ceasefire, 24 hostages and more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners have been released so far. The first phase includes Hamas' release of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The war could resume if no agreement is reached on the more complicated second phase, which calls for Hamas to release all remaining hostages and an indefinite extension of the ceasefire.
