Three Israeli hostages set to return from Gaza

15/2/2025 11:45

Israeli hostages Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Sasha Troufanov are expected to return from Gaza on Saturday after Egyptian and Qatari mediators helped avert a standoff that threatened to sink a fragile ceasefire that has halted fighting for almost a month.



Palestinian militant group Hamas said the three would be returned, in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, easing fears that the agreement could collapse before the end of a 42-day ceasefire.



Dekel-Chen, a U.S.-Israeli, Troufanov, a Russian Israeli, and Horn, whose brother Eitan was also abducted, were seized in Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the communities around the Gaza Strip that was overrun by Hamas gunmen on October 7, 2023.



Hamas had earlier threatened not to release more hostages after it accused Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire by blocking aid from entering Gaza, drawing counterthreats of a resumption of fighting from Israel, which called up reservists and placed its forces on high alert.



Israelis were angered by the emaciated appearance and accounts of mistreatment of three hostages released last week but there were also large protests demanding that the government keep going with the deal to bring all the hostages home.