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HAMAS HAS HANDED over three Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Yunis, in the sixth hostage-prisoner swap under its ceasefire agreement with Israel, an AFP journalist reported.
Israeli-American Sagui Dekel-Chen, Israeli-Russian Sasha Trupanov and Israeli-Argentinian Yair Horn were paraded on the stage and told to address the crowd before their handover to the Red Cross.
Masked Hamas militants then handed them over to the Red Cross. 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 two 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 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 assure Israel would allow more tents, medical supplies and other essentials into Gaza.
The trio were abducted from one of the hardest-hit communities in southern Israel during the Hamas-led 7 October, 2023 attack that ignited the devastating war.
The Hamas-linked Prisoners’ Information Office said on Friday that 369 Palestinians were set to be released from Israeli prisons tomorrow. It said 36 of those were serving life sentences.
It is the sixth swap since the ceasefire took effect on 19 January. So far, 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners have been freed during the first phase of the truce.
Abducted
Horn, Dekel Chen and Troufanov were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where some 80 of roughly 400 residents were taken hostage during the 7 October attack.
Horn was abducted along with his brother, Eitan Horn, who had been staying with him at the time. Eitan remains in captivity.
Dekel Chen had been working outside when militants stormed the kibbutz. His wife hid in a safe room with their two daughters. She gave birth to their third daughter two months later.
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Troufanov was taken hostage along with his grandmother, mother and girlfriend. The three women were released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023. Troufanov’s father was killed in the 7 October attack.
Among the most prominent Palestinian prisoners set to be released is Ahmed Barghouti, 48, a close aide of Marwan Barghouti, a militant leader and iconic Palestinian political figure.
Israel sentenced Ahmed Barghouti to life on charges that he dispatched 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.
Of the 251 people abducted, 73 remain in Gaza, around half of whom are believed to be dead. Nearly all the remaining hostages are men, including Israeli soldiers.
Concern has been growing about the remaining hostages’ condition, particularly after the release of three last Saturday, who emerged looking emaciated and frail.
One of them, 65-year-old Keith Siegel, said on Friday in a video message addressed to Trump that his captors treated him worse as the 15-month war intensified, kicking him, spitting on him and holding him without water or light.
Munich Security Conference
In Germany, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Simon Harris is to meet the Prime Minister of Palestine to discuss the crisis in Gaza.
Speaking today ahead of the meeting, the Tánaiste said he welcomed the return of the three hostages and subsequently the holding of the ceasefire.
“I know the world is relieved to see the fragile ceasefire holding. It is essential everyone works tirelessly to ensure the ceasefire remains in place and is fully adhered to by all,” Harris said.
“It is also vital that we begin to prepare for the reconstruction of Gaza and how the international community can assist in plans for a future that is secure for both the people of Israel and Palestine and the advancement of a two State solution.
“I know I join with people across Ireland in urging the release of all hostages, the cessation of all violence and a major surge in humanitarian assistance which is so urgently needed.”
Harris will also meet the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister today and he will reiterate Ireland’s support for Ukraine. He is to take part in 11 separate meetings with foreign leaders today.
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