Terrorist organization Hamas has released three more hostages to Israel in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The Feb. 15 swap was conducted as a cease-fire brokered by the United States and Arab states continues to hold under strain.
Hamas terrorists paraded the three hostages through a large crowd before releasing them in a show of force likely designed to underscore the fact that the terrorist group is still operating despite Israel’s war in Gaza.
The hostages, all dual citizens, were transported to Israel to be reunited with their families and to receive medical evaluation.
Hostages released included Argentinian Israeli citizen Iair Horn, American Israeli citizen Sagui Chen, and Russian Israeli citizen Alexander Troufanov.
All three men were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz during Hamas’s terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
The three returned home to an Israel different from the one they were taken from and were reunited with families that have seen much suffering in the 16 months since the war began.
Horn’s brother, Eitan Horn, who had been staying with him at the time, remains in captivity and is not currently scheduled for release in any swap.
Troufanov was informed shortly before his release that his father had been killed on Oct. 7, 2023. His grandmother, mother, and girlfriend were previously released after spending more than a year in Hamas captivity.
Chen’s wife, who was pregnant during the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack and hid in a safe room with their other daughters, has since given birth to the couple’s third daughter, whom Chen will now meet for the first time.
In exchange for the three hostages, Israel is releasing 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Four of the prisoners were taken for medical treatment, according to the Red Crescent.
Among those released are 36 criminals who were serving life sentences for involvement in deadly attacks against Israelis. Two-thirds of those men will now go abroad, with the remaining dozen returning to the West Bank.
The other 333 were returned to Gaza, where they had initially been detained.
Of the 251 people abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, 73 remain in Gaza. About half of that number are believed to be dead.
Concerns are now high about the remaining hostages’ condition and whether they will survive long enough to be released.
Several disputes have erupted in recent days, threatening to collapse the tenuous cease-fire deal and plunge Israel and Hamas back into war.
It is unclear how Trump would pursue the takeover and how the current population in Gaza would be moved.
Hamas has also threatened to delay hostage releases, claiming that Israel was not upholding its commitments to allow more shelters, medical supplies, fuel, and other equipment into Gaza.
Although negotiators were able to hold the cease-fire together and ensure the release of the three hostages on Feb. 15, there have been no substantive talks on extending the cease-fire into a second phase in which Hamas would release all remaining hostages in return for an end to the war.
