ReutersHamas released three Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, in the last exchange under the ceasefire agreed by Israel and the armed group last month.
The three hostages delivered on Saturday are the Americans-Israelis Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, the Argentinian-Israeli Horn Yair, 46, and the Russian Israeli Alexander Troufanov, 29.
In return, 369 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons were released.
Until now, 19 hostages detained in Gaza and more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners have been released as part of the Gaza ceasefire which began on January 19, 2025.
At the end of the first stage of six weeks of the agreement, 33 hostages and 1,900 prisoners should be released.
On Saturday, in the sixth exchange since last month, Israeli hostages were given to Khan Younis in the southern gang of Gaza.
Surrounded by militants heavily armed with Hamas, the men briefly approached a crowd of Palestinians before being transferred to vehicles of the Red Cross.
They did not seem as emaciated as the hostages released a week earlier – their appearance had aroused anger in Israel and elsewhere.
Yair Horn and his brother Eitan, 37, were both kidnapped from a Kibbutz during the attacks on October 7, 2023 in Hamas. Eitan Horn remains in captivity in Gaza.
The three men were transported by plane by military helicopters in a hospital in the center of Israel where they will undergo medical tests and will be found with relatives.
Israeli president Isaac Herzog, publishing on social networks, said the hostages had been “forced to undergo” a “despicable and cynical ceremony”.
In a social media position, the Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, said that Israel would continue to work with the United States to “make sure that all hostages are going to Israel soon”.
The majority of released Palestinians were taken to Gaza, although some were taken to the West Bank. In the two regions, crowds met to welcome the former prisoners.
The Palestinian Red Crescent-Red Company told BBC that five of the people freed in the city of Ramallah of the West West Cisjordan had been taken directly to the hospital.
“They all have chronic diseases,” said Mohammad Faqih, a Palestinian official Red Crescent Society, adding that a man had a broken leg.
Most of the 36 Palestinians would have been perpetuated have been expelled to Egypt.
ReutersEarlier this week, Hamas threatened to delay the release of hostages after accused Israel of having violated the terms of the agreement, which Israel denied.
Israel, supported by US President Donald Trump, said “intense” fights will be given unless the hostages are delivered.
The last versions mean that by virtue of the ceasefire, Hamas is due to the release of 14 other hostages.
However, Israel says that eight died, which means that six living Israelis should always be returned to the first phase.
A total of 141 hostages have now been released, including 81 Israelis and 24 foreign nationals released as part of a previous agreement between Israel and Hamas.
About 1,200 people were killed and 251 brought back to Gaza as hostages when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
This sparked an enormous Israeli military offensive in Gaza, which killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to the Ministry of Health managed by Hamas.
