The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas just released three hostages in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners, as part of this sixth exchange with Israel, thanks to the truce that’s been holding in the Gaza Strip – which, by the way, was on the verge of breaking. The hostages, Israeli-Argentine Yair Horn, 46, Russian-Israeli Sasha Trupanov, 29, and American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, were handed over in Jan Yunis, in the south of the strip.
This whole thing went down pretty much like it did last time – hooded and armed Hamas militiamen escorted the hostages to a stand, where they were forced to give a brief statement, microphone in hand, in Hebrew. All of this, of course, was set against the backdrop of ruins, a grim reminder of the Israeli military offensive. Anyway, minutes later, the Israeli army confirmed that they’d received all three hostages, after 498 days of captivity.
Now, in return for the hostages, Israel released those 369 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, just before US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel. Several buses carrying Palestinian prisoners left two Israeli prisons, and a group of them arrived in the city of Ramala, in the occupied West Bank, where they were greeted with cheers from relatives and supporters. Oh, and 24 of the released Palestinians were actually expelled to Egypt, where they were seen smiling as they crossed the border. The Red Cross reported that four of the prisoners released by Israel were hospitalized.
The Red Cross asks to respect the “dignity” of the released
Israeli TV broadcast images of Palestinian prisoners before their release, showing inmates wearing t-shirts with the prison service logo and an Arabic message that translates to “we do not forget or forgive.” Hamas condemned this, calling it a “racist” act and a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.” The Red Cross, for its part, urged both sides to do more to respect the “dignity” of those released.
So, to give you some context, Horn, Trupanov, and Dekel-Chen were kidnapped at the Kibutz Nir Oz during Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war. That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, according to official Israeli data. Islamist commanders also took 251 people hostage, 70 of whom are still in Gaza – although, sadly, 35 are believed to be dead, according to the Israeli army. The Israeli retaliation offensive over Gaza devastated the territory, causing at least 48,222 deaths, according to figures from the Hamas Government Ministry of Health, which the UN considers reliable.
After months of tough negotiations, mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US, a truce agreement was finally reached, which came into effect on January 19 and ended over 15 months of fighting in Gaza. However, the ceasefire has been shaky this week, with both sides accusing each other of violating the agreement. Hamas says the US needs to “force” Israel to respect the conditions of the pact to guarantee the release of hostages, while the Israeli army claims it’s “preparing attack plans” in parallel to the enthusiasm surrounding each hostage release.
Rejection of negotiations
The continuation of the agreement is uncertain, as negotiations on the implementation of the second phase have yet to begin. Mediating countries hope to start them “next week in Doha,” according to a source close to the negotiations, while Hamas indicates it’s confident they’ll start “earlier in the week.” The second stage is supposed to allow for the return of all hostages and the final end of the war, while the third and last phase will focus on reconstructing the strip, which the UN estimates will require over $53 billion. The fate of this territory is a major point of controversy, especially after US President Donald Trump suggested taking control of it, displacing its population to Egypt and Jordan, and turning it into a luxury tourist destination. Five Arab countries are set to meet on February 20 in Riyadh to formulate a joint response to Trump’s proposal, which has been criticized by the international community.