- India,
- 15-Feb-2025 07:20 PM IST
Israel-Hamas News: Hamas militants on Saturday released three Israeli hostages, who were first paraded in front of people in the southern Gaza Strip and then handed over to the Red Cross. This was the sixth hostage swap since the ceasefire began about a month ago. Israel began releasing 369 Palestinian prisoners after Hamas released three hostages. Despite threats from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hamas released only three hostages.The ceasefire has faced difficulties many times. Under this ceasefire, Israel was conditioned to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages, but this process is constantly facing challenges.The released hostages include American-Israeli Sagui Dekel Chen, 36, Ayar Horn, an Israeli-Argentine citizen, 46, and Russian-Israeli Alexander (Sasha) Trofanov, 29, who were kidnapped during a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. After being brought into Israeli military custody, they were given medical checkups and reunited with their families. They appeared tired and weak, but were in better condition than some of the detainees released earlier.So far, 21 hostages and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners have been released during the ceasefire. On Saturday, Hamas confirmed that 369 Palestinian prisoners were to be released, 36 of whom are serving life sentences. These include Ahmed Barghouti, a close associate of prominent Palestinian figure Marwan Barghouti. According to the Associated Press, Ahmad Barghouti was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in attacks during the second intifada.The hostages' release was staged in a dramatic fashion, with them presented on a stage in front of a crowd surrounded by armed Hamas fighters and banners of militant groups. The event was followed by celebrations in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square, where the community rejoiced at their safe return.The three hostages released on Saturday shared their harrowing experiences. Horn was kidnapped along with his brother Eitan, who is still in captivity. Dekel Chen was captured while working outside during the attack, while his wife and daughters hid in a safe room. Troufanov was held hostage along with his grandmother, mother and girlfriend, who were released in November. His father was killed during the attack in October.The Palestinian prisoners also include those convicted of a number of violent crimes. These include Ahmed Barghouti, who was arrested in 2002 for organising deadly attacks.Of the 251 hostages kidnapped during the 7 October attack, 73 are still held in Gaza. According to reports, about half of them have died, raising concerns about their condition. Some of the recently released hostages appeared to be suffering from malnutrition and weakness. Former hostage Keith Siegel, 65, shared his experiences of abuse during captivity, according to which his condition worsened as the war progressed.The ceasefire has faced threats several times. Hamas accused Israel of not providing enough humanitarian aid, which delayed the release of the hostages. At the same time, Israel warned that military operations would resume if the hostages were not released.Although the ceasefire is currently intact, there is uncertainty about its next phase. The next phase is expected to see the release of all remaining hostages in exchange for an end to the war, but there have been no concrete talks on this yet.US President Donald Trump has proposed relocating more than 2 million Palestinians from Gaza to other countries. The Israeli government has supported the proposal, but Palestinians and Arab countries have vehemently rejected it. Human rights organizations have called it illegal under international law and warned that it could be a war crime.According to Gaza's Health Ministry, more than 48,000 Palestinians, including many women and children, have been killed in this conflict so far. Israel claims to have killed 17,000 terrorists, but has not provided any concrete evidence of this. The fighting has displaced 90% of Gaza's population, further deepening the humanitarian crisis in the region.