Hamas frees three hostages

Three Israeli hostages have been freed in Gaza by Hamas on February 15th, according to Reuters.

The three named hostages are Iair Horn, Sasha (Alexander) Troufanov and Sagui Dekel Chen.

The three hostages were released in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees handed over by Israel, Asharq Al-Awsat via Reuters reported on February 14th.

The three captives were seized in Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the communities on the edge of the Gaza Strip.

On January 19th, an Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement that would see Palestinian and Israeli captives released and returned to their families was put into action. The exchange marks the sixth swap of captives between Israel and Hamas.

After accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement, Hamas threatened that it would delay the release of hostages. Israel responded to the threat with counter-threats of a resumption of fighting.

In just 15 months of fighting, more than 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israel’s campaign, according to Palestinian health ministry figures, with Netanyahu pledging to “eliminate” Hamas militants.

After Hamas launched its attack on communities in Israel on October 7th 2023, the proscribed terrorist group has killed some 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and more than 250 were taken as hostages.

Asharq Al-Awsat, Reuters, BBC, CBS, The Economic Times