3 Israeli hostages freed in Gaza under cease-fire agreement

Three Israeli hostages were released by Hamas in Gaza on Saturday, in the sixth exchange of hostages under the ceasefire agreement.

The hostages, Sagui Dekel-Chen (American-Israeli), Alexandre Troufanov (Russian-Israeli), and Yair Horn (Argentinian-Israeli), were freed in Khan Younis and handed over to the Red Cross.

Israel is expected to release 369 Palestinian prisoners later on the same day, marking the largest prisoner swap yet.

Driving the news

• The hostages were released in southern Gaza around 10 a.m. local time.
• The hostages appeared to be in better condition than those released last week.
• The release took place near the house of Yahya Sinwar, a late Hamas leader, and militants gathered to mark the occasion.

A banner at the event read, “No migration except to Jerusalem,” referencing U.S. policies.

The exchange also reflects ongoing political and military tensions in the region, with militant groups continuing to use hostages as leverage.

Hostage exchange continues after Trump’s threats

President Donald Trump earlier this week emphasized that Hamas has until noon of Saturday today to release all hostages.

Trump stated on Friday that he is uncertain about “what will happen to Gaza” if Hamas had failed to release Israeli hostages by noon, escalating tensions around the planned prisoner exchange.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump suggested he would take a harder stance on the situation. “If it were up to me, I would take a very tough position,” Trump said, adding that he “cannot say what Israel will do.”

“Hamas has completely changed,” Trump said. “Now you want to release the hostages again, but you should see that this started with them saying they won’t release the prisoners.”

Hamas had initially backed away from releasing the hostages due to Israeli continued violations of the cease-fire agreement with halting humanitarian aid and continued air striking the area.