Palestinian militants released three Israeli hostages β including Israeli-Argentine Yair Horn β on Saturday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian inmates freed by Israel, completing the latest swap despite fears the Gaza truce deal was near collapse. The year-old suffers from diabetes, which is why his family asked for his release among the negotiation priorities. Horn, US-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, Israeli-Russian Sasha Trupanov were taken to make statements into a microphone before being handed over to the Red Cross and led back home to Israeli territory, after being held for more than 16 months.
Clutching gift bags given by their captors, the three men, flanked by fighters, called for the completion of further hostage exchanges under the ceasefire deal.
Not long after, a busload of Palestinian prisoners departed Israel's Ofer Prison and were greeted by a cheering crowd in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, an AFP journalist reported. Saturday's swap, the sixth since the truce took effect on January 19, came after Hamas had threatened to pause hostage releases over alleged Israeli violations, while Israel had threatened to resume the war if it did.
Out of hostages seized during Hamas's October 7, attack on Israel that sparked the war, 70 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead. Dekel-Chen's wife, Avital, said in a call to her sister aired by Israel's Kan public broadcaster: "My breath has returned. He looks so handsome. Later in the day, hundreds of Palestinians freed by Israel reached Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, where they made victory signs and waved to a jubilant crowd.
Charged with intentionally causing death and being a member of an illegal organisation, according to Israeli justice ministry records, Abu Radaha had spent almost 32 years in jail.
