Days after the ceasefire agreement faced challenges, Hamas announced the names of three hostages originally scheduled for release on Saturday in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners. The three hostages are Alexander Trufanov, who holds dual Russian and Israeli citizenship, Yair Horn, who holds dual Argentine and Israeli citizenship, and Sagui Dekel-Chen, who holds dual American and Israeli citizenship.
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03-04, 2025Israel stated that it would resume bombing if the three hostages were not released on time. Previously, Hamas claimed it would postpone the release of hostages due to Israel's violation of the ceasefire agreement. U.S. President Donald Trump also stated that the ceasefire agreement should be canceled if Hamas did not release all hostages held in the Gaza Strip by noon on Saturday.
Since the ceasefire agreement came into effect on January 19, 16 Israeli hostages and 5 Thai hostages have been released in exchange for Israel releasing 766 prisoners. In the first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement, a total of 33 hostages were to be released in exchange for Israel releasing approximately 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The conflict was triggered by Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, when militants killed approximately 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages.
According to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in the Gaza Strip, more than 48,230 people have been killed in Israeli military operations in Gaza since then. Currently, 73 hostages kidnapped on October 7 remain held in Gaza. In addition, three other Israeli hostages—one of whom is already dead—have been held in Gaza for a decade or longer. Alexander Trufanov (29), Yair Horn (46), and Sagui Dekel-Chen (36) were all kidnapped from the Nir Oz kibbutz on the edge of Gaza.
The ceasefire agreement has been strained since its inception, with both sides taking reciprocal actions for alleged violations. Active efforts by mediators such as the United States, Egypt, and Qatar have managed to prevent the collapse of the agreement. Israel was particularly angered by the manner of the hostages' release—the hostages were publicly displayed on platforms, side-by-side with militants, and in front of large crowds, before being handed over to the Red Cross in chaotic scenes. Hamas, on the other hand, accused Israel of preventing the number of tents and aid trucks that should have been allowed into Gaza under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a video claiming that a rocket was fired from Gaza into Israel on Thursday. The IDF stated that the rocket launch failed and landed inside Gaza. Reuters cited sources from the Hamas-controlled police department as saying that the rocket was an unexploded Israeli ordnance that was launched into the air while being moved. The Palestinian news agency WAFA in the West Bank stated that on the same day, a 14-year-old boy, Hamouda Ala Shaat, was killed by Israeli ordnance that exploded in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza.
