Israel and Hamas completed their sixth exchange of hostages and prisoners on Saturday after their ceasefire survived its latest crisis.
The Palestinian militant group was going to delay the exchange because Israel wasn’t letting the agreed-upon humanitarian aid into the devastated Gaza Strip. However, the exchange got back on track after Hamas said mediators Egypt and Qatar pledged to “remove all hurdles” to ensure Israel would allow more tents, medical supplies and other essentials.
Israel released more than 369 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday after Hamas freed three hostages who have been held by Hamas since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war in Gaza. They are Argentinian-Israeli Iair Horn, 46; American-Israeli Sagui Dekel Chen, 36; and Russian-Israeli Alexander Troufanov, 29.
Just over two weeks remain in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, which began on Jan. 19. The war could resume in early March if no agreement is reached on the more complicated second phase, which calls for the return of all remaining hostages and an indefinite extension of the truce.
Here’s the latest:
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US secretary of state arrives in Israel as part of Mideast tour
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has landed in Israel to begin a Mideast tour as the region responds to President Donald Trump’s proposal to expel Gaza’s Palestinian population to other countries and redevelop the territory under U.S. ownership. The Palestinians and Arab states have rejected it.
Rubio is expected to meet Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met Trump at the White House earlier this month.
Rubio’s arrival in Tel Aviv came hours after Israel and Hamas completed a sixth exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners under their fragile ceasefire. Serious negotiations on the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase were to begin early this month.
Release of Israeli-Argentinian hostage is welcomed by the South American country’s president
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — President Javier Milei of Argentina acknowledged the role his staunch ally U.S. President Donald Trump played in the ceasefire deal that led to the release of an Argenitnian-Israeli hostage on Saturday, according to a government statement.
Javier Milei said Iair Horn’s wife was pregnant and gave birth to their youngest daughter while he was in captivity.
“Today, he will be able to meet her for the first time and reunite with the rest of his family,” Milei said.
He said Argentina’s government repeated its call for Hamas to release all the remaining hostages, including Iair’s brother, Eitan Horn.
Milei said his country “hopes for a swift resolution to the conflict with the absolute defeat of the terrorist group responsible for the worst attack against the Jewish community since the Holocaust.”
Released Palestinian prisoners are greeted by cheering crowd of relatives and supporters
BEITUNA, West Bank — Nearly every Palestinian has a friend or family member who has been jailed by Israel for militant attacks or lesser offenses such as rock-throwing, protesting or membership in a banned political group.
Families and supporters swarmed a Red Cross minibus on Saturday carrying the prisoners home to the occupied West Bank, chanting “God is greatest.”
“When I saw my son, my soul came back to me again and I came back to life,” said Umm Bashar, mother of Hassan Aweis, 47, who was sentenced to life in 2002 on charges of voluntary manslaughter, planting an explosive device and attempted murder.
“It’s an indescribable feeling of pain mixed with joy,” Aweis said, noting that one of his brothers, Abdel Karim, was being deported while another remained in prison.
Twenty-four prisoners serving life sentences were exiled abroad after being released Saturday, while 12 returned to the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.
More than 330 Palestinian detainees are sent back to Gaza
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Buses transported the other 333 Palestinian detainees freed Saturday to Gaza, where they were greeted with hugs, tears and cheers after rolling into the southern city of Khan Younis.
The Israeli Prison Service released the Palestinians in sweatshirts emblazoned with a Star of David, the agency logo and the phrase “Never forgive, never forget” written in Arabic.
Some of those released into Gaza threw the sweatshirts on the ground and set them on fire.
As part of the ceasefire, Israel has also committed to releasing over 1,000 detained from Gaza provided they did not participate in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.
Freed Palestinians describe harsh conditions and families worry about loved ones still in prison
BEITUNA, West Bank — Some of the prisoners released to the West Bank appeared gaunt, and the Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said four were taken to the hospital Saturday for urgent care.
The Israeli Prison Service says it ensures “all basic rights” of prisoners and detains them according to the law.
“The conditions of detention are more difficult than you could imagine,” Ibrahim Sarahneh told The Associated Press as he stepped off the bus into the jubilant crowds in the West Bank village of Beitunia. “There is beating, insults, cursing.”
The three Sarahneh brothers from east Jerusalem were released after more than 22 years in prison for their involvement in suicide bombings that killed Israelis during the second intifada.
Amani al-Khandaqji wore a black T-shirt with her brother Bassem’s face. She’s still waiting and hoping he’ll be released from Israeli prison, where she said he’s serving three life sentences.
“Every time there is a release of prisoners,” she said, “I come to receive the prisoners and to experience the joy and to share with them this feeling.”
Some of the prisoners were held at the same facility as her brother, al-Khandaqji said, and she asks them about how he and the other prisoners are doing.
Trump weighs in on release of Israeli hostages
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump posted on social media that the Israeli hostages freed Saturday “seem to be in good shape.”
“Israel will now have to decide what they will do about the 12:00 O’CLOCK, TODAY, DEADLINE imposed on the release of ALL HOSTAGES. The United States will back the decision they make!” Trump wrote.
Israel has not imposed such a deadline, and it is not part of the ceasefire deal.
Trump’s recent proposal to remove the territory’s over 2 million Palestinians and settle them elsewhere in the region has also rattled the truce.
Lebanese authorities arrest dozens after protesters injure a top UN peacekeeping commander
BEIRUT — Over 25 people have been arrested after protesters in Lebanon attacked a convoy transporting U.N. peacekeepers to Beirut’s airport a day earlier, injuring a top commander.
Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar, speaking after a security meeting Saturday, condemned the attacks and said the investigation is ongoing, with detainees being questioned to release the innocent and prosecute those responsible.
Demonstrators had blocked the airport road to protest Lebanon’s decision to revoke permission for an Iranian passenger plane to land, leaving dozens of Lebanese stranded abroad.
Lebanon’s ban on the Iranian flight came after Israel claimed Iran was smuggling cash to Hezbollah using commercial air travel.
Lebanon’s civil aviation agency said it blocked the flights due to “additional security measures,” and was rescheduling some flights until Feb. 18 — the same day as the deadline for Israel and Hezbollah to fully implement their ceasefire, including a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.
Lebanon’s new prime minister, Nawaf Salam, condemned the attack on U.N. peacekeepers and said Saturday that the Iranian flight was blocked over security concerns stemming, at least in part, from international sanctions on the air carrier.
Hostage families celebrate their release
TEL AVIV, Israel — Chen’s wife, Avital, told Israeli media that every Saturday for the past month her daughters have asked her: “Is Daddy coming home today?”
She said she was overwhelmed with happiness to see Sagui back in Israel where he will meet for the first time his youngest daughter Shachar, born while he was in captivity.
Chen appeared to be limping as he descended the stage during the hostage release.
“Our hearts ache for everything he missed, but now he’s here, unlike many others,” Dekel Chen’s family said.
Troufanov’s family said they were “overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude” as he crossed into Israeli territory. Before meeting them, Troufanov was informed his father was killed on Oct. 7, 2023.
Horn’s family joyously put stickers that read “I’m back!” on sweatshirts bearing photos of the Argentinian-Israeli brothers Eitan and Iair Horn.
“Our Iair is home after surviving hell in Gaza. Now, we need to bring Eitan back so our family can truly breathe,” the family said.
In the pub that Horn managed at Kibbutz Nir Oz, dozens of people gathered, raising toasts to the return of the three hostages.
Israel begins releasing Palestinian prisoners
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israel is expected to release 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including 36 serving life sentences over deadly attacks.
Footage showed a busload of prisoners arriving in the occupied West Bank, where they were met by relatives and cheering supporters.
Most of those released were transported to Gaza, where a large crowd greeted them in Khan Younis, the same town where the hostages had been released hours earlier.
Russian ambassador to Qatar welcomes Trufanov’s release
DOHA, Qatar — Dmitry Dogadkin said that Trufanov “was included in the list of hostages to be released in the first, and not the second stage of the agreement between Israel and Hamas, at Russia’s request”, reported Russian state news agency TASS.
He also said: “According to the leadership of the Palestinian movement, this was done as a sign of respect for our country’s position in support of a fair settlement of the Middle East conflict.”
Israel confirms receiving the hostages
JERUSALEM — Israeli authorities confirmed they received the three Israeli hostages on Saturday after Hamas released them to the Red Cross.
They appeared pale and worn but seemed to be in better physical condition than the three men released last Saturday, who had emerged from 16 months of captivity emaciated.
Hamas fighters gather ahead of hostage release
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Dozens of masked and armed Hamas fighters have gathered in the southern Gaza Strip for the release of three Israeli hostages.
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 is holding, but it’s still very fragile
The ceasefire appeared dangerously close to collapse in recent days.
Hamas said it would delay the release of the hostages after accusing Israel of not adhering to their agreement by not allowing in enough shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment for clearing rubble, while Israel said it would resume fighting Saturday unless hostages were freed.
Trump’s proposal to remove some 2 million Palestinians from Gaza and settle them elsewhere in the region threw the truce’s future into further doubt.
The idea has been welcomed by Israel’s government, whose far-right members are already calling for a resumption of the war after the first ceasefire phase. But it has been strongly rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, and human rights groups say it could amount to a war crime under international law.
Hamas may be unwilling to release any more hostages if it believes the war will resume. The captives are among the only bargaining chips it has left.
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