KHAN YOUNIS: Hamas fighters have gathered in the southern Gaza Strip for the release of three Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for more than 300 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
The three are Iair Horn, 46, Sagui Dekel Chen, 36, and Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29. All have dual citizenships. Horn was abducted along with his brother, Eitan, who remains in captivity.
As with previous exchanges, a stage was set up and the area was festooned with Palestinian flags and the banners of militant factions. Nearby was the shell of a heavily damaged multistory building.
The militants are expected to parade the hostages before crowds and cameras before handing them over to the Red Cross.
The truce that began nearly four weeks ago had been jeopardized in recent days by a tense dispute that threatened to renew the fighting.
US President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to remove more than 2 million Palestinians from Gaza and settle them elsewhere in the region has cast even more doubt on the future of the ceasefire.
But Hamas said Thursday it would move ahead with the release of more hostages after talks with Egyptian and Qatari officials. The group said the mediators had pledged to “remove all hurdles” to assure Israel would allow more tents, medical supplies and other essentials into Gaza.
It will be the sixth swap since the ceasefire took effect on Jan. 19. So far, 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners have been freed during the first phase of the truce.
As with previous exchanges, dozens of masked, armed Hamas fighters lined up near a stage festooned with Palestinian flags and the banners of militant factions while music blared from loudspeakers.
The militants are expected to parade the hostages before crowds and cameras onto the stage, which has been set up near a heavily damaged multistory building, before handing them over to the Red Cross. The humanitarian organization will then transport them to Israeli force.
Three Israeli hostages, over 300 Palestinian prisoners set to be exchanged today
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Three Israeli hostages, over 300 Palestinian prisoners set to be exchanged today
- As with previous exchanges, a stage was set up and the area was festooned with Palestinian flags and the banners of Palestinian groups
- The truce that began nearly four weeks ago had been jeopardized in recent days by a tense dispute that threatened to renew the fighting
Israel’s hostage forum releases AI-generated video of last Gaza captive
- The Gaza ceasefire, which came into effect in October, remains fragile with both sides alleging violations, and mediators fearing that Israel and Hamas alike are stalling
JERUSALEM: An Israeli group representing the families of Gaza hostages released on Tuesday an AI-generated video of Ran Gvili, the last captive whose body is still being held in the Palestinian territory.
The one-minute clip, created whole cloth using artificial intelligence, purports to depict Gvili as he sits in a Gaza tunnel and appeals to US President Donald Trump to help bring his body back to Israel.
“Mr President, I’m asking you to see this through: Please bring me home. My family deserves this. I deserve the right to be buried with honor in the land I fought for,” says the AI-generated image of Gvili.
Gvili was 24 at the time of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
He was an officer in Israel’s Yasam elite police unit and was on medical leave when he learnt of the attack.
He decided to leave his home and brought his gun to counter the Hamas militants.
He was shot in the fighting at the Alumim kibbutz before he was taken to Gaza.
Israeli authorities told Gvili’s parents in January 2024 that he had not survived his injuries.
The AI clip was released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the main group representing those taken captive to Gaza.
The Forum said it was published with the approval of Gvili’s family.
“Seeing and hearing Rani speak in his own voice is both moving and heartbreaking. I would give anything to hear, see and hold him again,” Gvili’s mother Talik said, quoted by the Forum.
“But all I can do now is plead that they don’t move to the next phase of the agreement before bringing Rani home — because we don’t leave heroes behind.”
The Gaza ceasefire, which came into effect in October, remains fragile with both sides alleging violations, and mediators fearing that Israel and Hamas alike are stalling.
In the first stage, Palestinian militants were expected to return all of the remaining 48 living and dead hostages held in Gaza.
Since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10, militants have released 47 hostages.
In the next stages of the truce, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza, an interim authority is to govern the Palestinian territory instead of Hamas, and an international stabilization force is to be deployed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet Trump in Florida later this month to discuss the second phase of the deal.
