Hostages, prisoners exchanged after dispute threatened to reignite war in Gaza
Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip: Hamas-led militants released three male Israeli hostages on Saturday, parading them before a crowd in the southern Gaza Strip before handing them over to the Red Cross as part of a shaky ceasefire deal that saw Israel release 369 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.
The Red Cross delivered the three – Iair Horn, 46, a dual citizen of Israel and Argentina; American-Israeli Sagui Dekel Chen, 36; and Rusian-Israeli Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29 – to the Israeli military, which said they would be taken for medical treatment and for reunification with their relatives.
Hostages (from left) Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel Chen and Alexander Troufanov are taken by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters to be handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.Credit: AP
All were abducted in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that ignited the war. They appeared pale and worn, but seemed to be in better physical condition than three men released last Saturday, who had emerged emaciated from 16 months of captivity.
The releases are part of a truce that began nearly four weeks ago but has in recent days been jeopardised by a tense dispute that threatened to result in renewed fighting.
US President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to remove more than 2 million Palestinians from Gaza and settle them elsewhere in the region has cast even more doubt on the future of the ceasefire.
But Hamas had 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 assure Israel would allow more tents, medical supplies and other essentials into Gaza.
Saturday’s exchange represented the sixth such swap since the ceasefire took effect on January 19.
Who were the hostages released on Saturday?
Horn, Dekel Chen and Troufanov were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where some 80 of roughly 400 residents were taken hostage during the October 7 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.
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 during the attack.
Among the most prominent Palestinian prisoners on the list for release was Ahmed Barghouti, 48, a close aide of Marwan Barghouti, an 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.
The truce remains very fragile
The ceasefire has appeared dangerously close to collapse in recent days.
Hamas had said it would delay the release of the hostages after accusing Israel of not adhering to their agreement by not allowing into Gaza enough shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment for clearing rubble. Israel said it would resume fighting on Saturday unless hostages were freed.
While the immediate crisis may have been averted, the truce faces a much bigger challenge with the deal’s first phase set to conclude in early March. There have not yet been substantive negotiations over the second phase, in which Hamas would release all remaining hostages in return for an end to the war.
At its height, the fighting displaced 90 per cent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million. Hundreds of thousands have since returned to their homes as the ceasefire took hold, though many found only rubble, buried human remains and unexploded ordnance.
The war has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Trump’s proposal to force Palestinians out of Gaza and settle them elsewhere in the region has thrown a cloud over the truce.
The idea was welcomed by Israel’s government, but strongly rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries. Human rights groups say it could amount to a war crime under international law.
Trump has proposed Israel transferring control of Gaza to the United States, which would then redevelop it as the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
AP, Reuters
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