Hamas frees 3 more hostages, including American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, as Gaza ceasefire endures

American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, was among three hostages released by Hamas on Saturday morning after being held in captivity in Gaza for almost a year and half. The other two hostages handed over to Red Cross personnel in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis were Israelis Sasha Troufanov, 29, and Iair Horn, 46.

The men were led onto a stage by Hamas operatives in Khan Younis, all walking without apparent serious injuries, and they read statements, but Israeli television did not broadcast the audio of the remarks.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed soon after that the Red Cross had transferred the men to the IDF, and that they had crossed the Gaza border into Israel. 

“The returning hostages are currently on their way to an initial reception point in southern Israel, where they will be reunited with members of their families,” the IDF said in a statement.”

All three men were abducted during the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Nir Oz near the border with Gaza, where they lived. Two were being held by Hamas and one was being held by another militant group in Gaza, Islamic Jihad.

Dekel-Chen was working in the Nir Oz machine shop when Hamas carried out its Oct. 7 attack. He confronted the terrorists and was taken hostage, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the families of the people who were seized that day.

His father Jonathan, who lives in New York, told CBS News in September 2024 that Dekel-Chen is the “father of three little girls,” the youngest of whom he still had not met. 

“His seven-month-pregnant wife miraculously survived with their two little girls on October 7,” Jonathan Dekel-Chen told CBS’ “Face the Nation” at that time. On Saturday, the IDF released a photo of Sagui reunited with his wife, Avital. 

Troufanov, an engineer at Amazon, immigrated to Israel from the Soviet Union, the forum said. His father was killed during the Oct. 7 attack. His grandmother, mother, and girlfriend were taken hostage but then released as part of a previous hostage-prisoner exchange with Hamas in November 2023.

Horn, 46, was born in Argentina and was kidnapped along with his brother, Eitan, on Oct. 7. Eitan remains in captivity, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

“The shocking footage of hostage survivors from Saturday and the latest signs of life prove that time is running out for those still held captive,” the forum said Friday. “We must reach a comprehensive and immediate agreement, without gaps or delays, to return all hostages — the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for proper burial.”

Hamas said Thursday that it would continue releasing hostages according to the terms of the ceasefire and hostage release deal with Israel after saying several days earlier that it would delay Saturday’s scheduled exchange, accusing Israel of violations of the deal. 

Hamas, which has ruled over Gaza for almost two decades but has long been designated a terrorist organization by Israel and the U.S., accused Israel on Monday of breaching the agreement by failing to secure emergency housing and other basic necessities for the hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel warned that if Saturday’s exchange did not go ahead as planned, it would resume military operations in Gaza. Under the terms of the deal Israel was expected to free dozens more Palestinians from its prisons in exchange for the three hostages’ release.

Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of breaching the agreement multiple times, but it has remained in effect since its implementation began on January 19.

The deal consists of three phases, and the current six-week first phase is to see a total of 33 Israeli hostages released in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners. As of Saturday, 24 of the Israeli hostages have been freed since the ceasefire began.

Negotiations for the second phase of the deal have begun, which, if agreed, would see even more hostages released and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

Israel launched a 15-month war against Hamas in Gaza in response to the October 7 terrorist attack, which saw militants kill some 1,200 people in southern Israel and take 251 others hostage. The war killed more than 48,000 people in Gaza, according to the Palestinian territory’s Hamas-run Health Ministry. 

Independent analyses from outside organizations have estimated the death toll at closer to 64,000.