Three more hostages seized by Hamas in its attack on Israel in October 2023 are expected to be released on Saturday morning.
Sagui Dekel-Chen, Yair Horn and Alexander “Sasha” Troufanov, who were all taken from kibbutz Nir Oz, close to the Gaza border, during the Hamas-led raid on October 7th, are to be released after 498 days in captivity.
Their release is set to come after a week of tension following a threat by Hamas to delay the move, because of what it said was Israel’s failure to meet the terms of their ceasefire agreement regarding humanitarian aid entering Gaza. US president Donald Trump weighed in, warning that if “all the hostages” were not set free by noon on Saturday, Israel would be justified in renewing its war on Gaza.
Israeli efforts continue to expedite the return of the six remaining living hostages due for release this month, as part of the first stage of the ceasefire agreed last month.
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Mr Dekel-Chen (36), who is a joint Israeli-US national, left his home in Nir Oz on the morning of the Hamas-led attack to help defend the kibbutz and was taken hostage. His wife and two daughters hid in the shelter in their home and survived. In December 2023, his wife gave birth to a third daughter, whom Mr Dekel-Chen has never met.
His father, US-born Jonathan Dekel-Chen, has been at the forefront of the hostage families’ campaign in the US to bring about the return of all the captives.
A few months ago, Sagui Dekel-Chen’s wife, Avital, posted a video of their daughter Gali sobbing and asking for her father to return. “It broke my heart,” she said. “I have nothing to say to her. I can’t promise her that her father will return because the government isn’t doing enough to bring him back.”
Mr Horn (46) was taken hostage from his home along with his brother Eitan, who had come to visit him on the weekend of the Hamas-led attack. Eitan is not on the list of those to be released in the first phase of what is intended to be a three-stage ceasefire.
Mr Troufanov (29), who also holds Russian citizenship, was taken hostage from his parents' home in Nir Oz along with his grandmother, mother, and his partner. All three were released in the first hostage release deal in November 2023. His father was murdered in the October 7th attack. Mr Troufanov is being held by the Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group, which has released four videos of him in captivity. Moscow has reportedly been in contact with Hamas to ensure that he was among the hostages to be released in the first phase.
Hamas announced that 36 militants sentenced to life imprisonment, as well as 333 Gazan prisoners arrested after October 7th, will be released on Saturday, after the hostages return to Israel.
Israel says 76 hostages remain in Gaza. Since the ceasefire began on January 19th, 16 Israeli and five Thai hostages have been released in exchange for 566 Palestinian prisoners.
The Gaza war was triggered by the October 7th attack, in which gunmen killed about 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, according to Israel.
More than 48,200 people have been killed by the Israel offensive in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
In other news, the foreign ministers of France and Lebanon announced on Friday that the Israeli military withdrawal from south Lebanon must be completed by next Tuesday, in accordance with the extension granted to Israel to the original ceasefire that called for a redeployment by January 26th.
Israel was reportedly considering maintaining five outposts inside south Lebanon, claiming that the Lebanese army had not deployed across the border as required.
