Israeli hostages and Palestinian inmates freed in ceasefire swap

A week after a fragile ceasefire agreement faced threats, Hamas released three more Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. This action demonstrates that, despite the challenges, both sides are still working to maintain the framework of the ceasefire agreement.

The released hostages included 36-year-old American-Israeli Sagi Dekel-Chen, 46-year-old Argentine-Israeli Yair Horn, and 29-year-old Russian-Israeli Alexander Trufanov. In exchange, Israel released 369 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

As of now, the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which began on January 19, has resulted in the release of 19 hostages and over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. This hostage exchange took place days after Hamas claimed it would suspend the release of hostages, accusing Israel of violating the terms of the agreement, an accusation Israel denied.

In the sixth hostage exchange, the hostages were transferred to Red Cross personnel and were part of a carefully orchestrated public display in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. The released hostages did not appear as gaunt as those released a week prior, whose condition had sparked outrage in Israel and elsewhere.

According to the initial six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement, 33 hostages and 1900 prisoners are expected to be released. The three released men were airlifted by military helicopter to a hospital in central Israel, where they underwent medical examinations and were reunited with their relatives. U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed the hostage release, noting that Hamas did not follow through on its threats.

Yair Horn and his brother Eitan were kidnapped from a kibbutz during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Eitan remains captive in Gaza. U.S. citizen Sagi Dekel-Chen was also reunited with his wife, learning that he had a one-year-old daughter. His wife was already eight months pregnant with their third child when he was captured by Hamas in October 2023.

The released Palestinians were mostly sent to Gaza, but some were also sent to the West Bank. In both locations, crowds gathered to welcome the released prisoners. The Palestinian Red Crescent told the BBC that five people released in the West Bank city of Ramallah were taken directly to the hospital. It was reported that most of the 36 Palestinians sentenced to life imprisonment would be deported to Egypt.

The latest release means that Hamas should release another 14 hostages under the ceasefire agreement. However, Israel says that 8 of them are already dead, meaning that 6 living Israelis are still expected to return in the first phase. A total of 141 hostages have been released, including 81 Israelis and 24 foreign nationals released as part of previous agreements between Israel and Hamas.

In the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, approximately 1,200 people were killed, and 251 were taken back to Gaza as hostages. This triggered a large-scale Israeli military offensive in Gaza, which the Hamas-run health ministry claims has resulted in the deaths of over 48,000 Palestinians.