US, Russian Nationals Released in Sixth Gaza Ceasefire Swap

Three hostages were released from captivity in Gaza and 369 Palestinians were freed from Israeli jails in a ceasefire swap that averted a collapse of the six-week truce deal between Israel and Hamas. 

The three men released in Gaza — including an American citizen and a Israeli-Russian national — were handed over to Israeli security forces in the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning. They have crossed the border into Israeli territory and were transferred to medical facilities following a reunion with family members, the IDF said in a statement.

The Hamas-run Prisoners Media Office said that 26 prisoners serving life sentences were freed by Israel, alongside 333 detainees who were taken into custody during Israeli military operations in Gaza. Twelve prisoners were released to the West Bank and to Jerusalem. All other prisoners were set free in Gaza, except 24 who will be deported. 

It was a sixth swap in a phased exchange that went into effect on Jan 19. Earlier this week, the truce deal had appeared compromised following mutual accusations of violations between the Iran-backed militant group and Israel.

US President Donald Trump said Saturday that Israel now has to decide what it will do about a 12 pm deadline imposed by him for the release of all hostages. He had previously encouraged Israel to call off the truce if this deadline wasn’t met. 

“The United States will back the decision they make,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. 

Israel’s military chief Herzi Halevi said in a statement that the Israeli Defence Forces are making immense efforts to bring all the hostages back, “while simultaneously preparing offensive plans.”

The three hostages released were: Israeli-Russian national Sasha Troufanov, 29, American Sagui Dekel-Chen, 26, and Iair Horn, 46. All were kidnapped from Nir Oz, a small Israeli border-adjacent community that was one of the hardest-hit by Hamas, with some 76 of its several hundred residents taken hostage. 

Troufanov, an engineer who was employed at Amazon’s cloud division before the attack, was abducted from his home along with his mother, grandmother and girlfriend. The three women were released during a previous ceasefire in November 2023. His father was killed in the attack.

Dekel-Chen was taken to Gaza as he was trying to combat Hamas militants on Oct 7. His wife gave birth to their third daughter when he was in captivity.

Horn was abducted from his home along with his younger brother Eitan, who is not expected to be released in the first stage of the ceasefire deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement following the release that Israel is “working in full coordination with the US at accomplishing the goal of rescuing all hostages — alive and dead — as quickly as possible and are preparing at full force moving forward — in all respects.”

Six more living hostages are due to be released over the next two weeks. Some two dozen hostages believed by Israel to be alive are not planned to be released until a second stage of the truce deal goes into effect.

Negotiations over the next stage began during Netanyahu’s visit to Washington DC last week, where he met with Trump and other senior US officials. The talks are still at very early stages and are complicated as they involve a permanent end to hostilities, which Israel objects to unless Hamas is removed from power.

Proof of the ceasefire’s fragility came earlier this week after Israel and Hamas, which is designated a terror organization by the US, traded accusations of violations to the truce deal. The Palestinian group had threatened to indefinitely delay the release of hostages but later said that mediators had agreed to press Israel over the transportation into Gaza of prefabricated housing, tents, medical equipment and fuel. 

Netanyahu’s office said Saturday that Hamas tried to violate agreements and “create a fake crisis with false claims,” and thanked Trump for making Hamas back down with “his clear, unequivocal statement.”

Israeli channel 12 reported Friday that attempts are being made to extend the first stage of the ceasefire, rather then move on to a second stage.

Saturday’s hostage handover took place at Khan Yunis, with the involvement of members of both Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is in possession of some of the hostages. 

Dozens of armed, masked militants gathered at the exchange spot where a stage was set up displaying anti-Israel and anti-US propaganda, including objections to Trump’s plan to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. “No migration but to Jerusalem,” read one of the signs.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.