4 months ago
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KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas connected Saturday paraded 3 Israeli hostages earlier a ample assemblage successful the Gaza Strip up of their handoff to the Red Cross.
The 3 hostages are Iair Horn, 46, a dual national of Israel and Argentina; Sagui Dekel Chen, 36, who is American-Israeli; and Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29, who holds Israeli and Russian citizenship.
All were abducted successful the Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught that ignited the war.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier communicative follows below.
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Three much Israelis held captive successful the Gaza Strip are connected the verge of being freed Saturday arsenic portion of a shaky ceasefire woody that requires Israel to merchandise hundreds of Palestinian prisoners successful exchange.
The truce that began astir 4 weeks agone had been jeopardized successful caller days by a tense quality that threatened to renew the fighting.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s arguable connection to region much than 2 cardinal Palestinians from Gaza and settee them elsewhere successful the portion has formed adjacent much uncertainty connected the aboriginal of the ceasefire.
But Hamas said Thursday it would determination up with the merchandise of much hostages aft talks with Egyptian and Qatari officials. The radical said the mediators had pledged to “remove each hurdles” to guarantee Israel would let much tents, aesculapian supplies and different essentials into Gaza.
It volition beryllium the sixth swap since the ceasefire took effect connected Jan. 19. So far, 21 hostages and implicit 730 Palestinian prisoners person been freed during the archetypal signifier of the truce.
Red Cross vehicles arrived astatine the determination wherever Hamas was acceptable to merchandise the hostages Saturday morning. As with erstwhile exchanges, dozens of masked, equipped Hamas fighters lined up adjacent a signifier festooned with Palestinian flags and the banners of militant factions portion euphony blared from loudspeakers.
The militants are expected to parade the hostages earlier crowds and cameras onto the stage, which has been acceptable up adjacent a heavy damaged multistory building, earlier handing them implicit to the Red Cross. The humanitarian enactment volition past transport them to Israeli forces
Who are the hostages and prisoners being released?
The 3 hostages acceptable to beryllium released aft much than 16 months successful captivity are: Iair Horn, 46, a dual national of Israel and Argentina; Sagui Dekel Chen, 36, who is American-Israeli; and Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29, who holds Israeli and Russian citizenship.
The trio were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, 1 of the hardest-hit communities successful confederate Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 onslaught that ignited the devastating war.
Horn was abducted on with his brother, Eitan Horn, who had been staying with him astatine the time. Eitan remains successful captivity.
Dekel Chen had been moving extracurricular erstwhile militants stormed the kibbutz. His woman hid successful a harmless country with their 2 daughters. She gave commencement to their 3rd girl 2 months later.
Troufanov was taken hostage on with his grandmother, parent and girlfriend. The 3 women were released during a little ceasefire successful November 2023. Troufanov’s begetter was killed successful the Oct. 7 attack.
The Hamas-linked Prisoners’ Information Office said Friday that 369 Palestinians were acceptable to beryllium released from Israeli prisons connected Saturday. It said 36 of those were serving beingness sentences.
Among the astir salient Palestinian prisoners acceptable to beryllium released is Ahmed Barghouti, 48, a adjacent adjutant of Marwan Barghouti, a militant person and iconic Palestinian governmental figure.
Israel sentenced Ahmed Barghouti to beingness connected charges that helium dispatched termination bombers during the Second Intifada, oregon Palestinian uprising, successful the aboriginal 2000s to transportation retired attacks that killed Israeli civilians. He was arrested alongside Marwan Barghouti successful 2002.
Concerns are precocious astir the remaining hostages’ condition
Of the 251 radical abducted, 73 stay successful Gaza, astir fractional of whom are believed to beryllium dead. Nearly each the remaining hostages are men, including Israeli soldiers.
Concern has been increasing astir the remaining hostages’ condition, peculiarly aft the merchandise of 3 past Saturday, who emerged looking emaciated and frail.
One of them, 65-year-old Keith Siegel, said Friday successful a video connection addressed to Trump that his captors treated him worse arsenic the 15-month warfare intensified, kicking him, spitting connected him and holding him without h2o oregon light.
The truce remains precise fragile
The ceasefire appeared dangerously adjacent to illness successful caller days.
Hamas had said it would hold the merchandise of the hostages aft accusing Israel of not adhering to their statement by not allowing successful capable shelters, aesculapian supplies, substance and dense instrumentality for clearing rubble. Israel said it would resume warring Saturday unless hostages were freed.
While the contiguous situation whitethorn person been averted, the truce faces a overmuch bigger situation with the deal’s archetypal signifier acceptable to reason successful aboriginal March. There person not yet been substantive negotiations implicit the 2nd phase, successful which Hamas would merchandise each remaining hostages successful instrumentality for an extremity to the war.
At its height, the warring displaced 90% of Gaza’s colonisation of 2.3 million. Hundreds of thousands person since returned to their homes arsenic the ceasefire took hold, though galore recovered lone rubble, buried quality remains and unexploded ordnance.
The warfare has killed implicit 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s wellness Ministry, which does not accidental however galore were fighters. Israel says it has killed implicit 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Trump’s program increases uncertainty
Trump’s connection to region immoderate 2 cardinal Palestinians from Gaza and settee them elsewhere successful the portion has thrown the truce’s aboriginal into further doubt.
The thought has been welcomed by Israel’s government. But it has been powerfully rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries. Human rights groups accidental it could magnitude to a warfare transgression nether planetary law.
Trump has projected that erstwhile the warring ends, Israel would transportation power of Gaza to the United States, which would past redevelop it arsenic the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right allies are already calling for a resumption of the warfare aft the archetypal signifier with the extremity of destroying Hamas and implementing Trump’s plan. The militant radical remains successful power of the territory aft surviving 1 of the deadliest and astir destructive subject campaigns successful caller history.
Hamas whitethorn beryllium unwilling to merchandise immoderate much hostages if it believes the warfare volition resume. The captives are among the lone bargaining chips it has left.
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Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip
