Hamas releases three Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners

Hamas released three Israeli captives on Saturday, while Israel began releasing some 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in the latest swap under a fragile ceasefire deal.

Flanked by Hamas fighters, the captives - Sagui Dekel-Chen, Alexander Sasha Troufanov and Iair Horn - were led on to a stage at the release site in Khan Younis, according to live footage.

The three captives, speaking briefly to the crowd through a microphone, urged further hostage exchanges under the ongoing ceasefire deal before being driven away in Red Cross vehicles into Israel.

Shortly afterwards, the first bus carrying freed Palestinian prisoners and detainees left Israel's Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank. The bus arrived in Ramallah to a cheering crowd, with some waving Palestinian flags. 

Dressed in traditional keffiyeh scarves, the prisoners were lifted on to the shoulders, embraced by their relatives and then taken for a brief health examination.

The former detainees also wore shirts emblazoned with the Star of David and the slogan “We will not forget or forgive” in Arabic. 

The Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group said that some of the freed Palestinian prisoners are in extremely poor health. Prisoners previously released from Israeli jails have borne signs of severe torture, disease and starvation. 

Shortly after, a convoy of buses carrying  333 prisoners freed from Israeli prisons arrived at the European Hospital in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, among them were a number of elderly prisoners, including a 70-year-old man. Al Jazeera reported that some of the former detainees wore their shirts inside out to hide the Israeli slogans.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club said 24 of the released prisoners are expected to be deported. Nearly all of the remaining 345 Palestinians are "prisoners from the Gaza Strip who were arrested after October 7", the group said. 

Among the released prisoners are 36 individuals serving life sentences, many of whom have spent over 20 years in Israeli prisons.

In a statement, Hamas highlighted the discrepancy between the conditions of Israeli captives and the freed Palestinian detainees.

“We condemn the occupation’s crime of placing racist slogans on the backs of our heroic prisoners, and treating them with cruelty and violence, in a blatant violation of humanitarian laws and norms,” the group said.

Meanwhile, in Israel, hundreds gathered in Tel Aviv to watch the captives' release live on a large screen. People broke into cheers and tears as news broke that the Red Cross was on its way to deliver the three to Israeli military forces in the Gaza Strip. 

This marks the sixth exchange since the ceasefire took effect on January 19, easing fears that the ceasefire agreement could collapse before the end of its 42-day first stage.

The first stage of the truce deal involves the exchange of 33 Israeli captives for hundreds of Palestinian detainees, the return of internally displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza and the retreat of Israeli troops to a perimeter area. 

Before Saturday's exchange, 16 Israeli captives had been returned, along with five Thai nationals, who were released in an unscheduled handover. Last week, three Israeli captives were released in exchange for 183 Palestinians.

The six-week truce was meant to pave the way for a second round of talks aimed at securing the release of remaining captives and completing the withdrawal of Israeli forces. The third stage of the ceasefire would involve a plan for the governance of Gaza and reconstruction.

Hamas had threatened to pause hostage releases over repeated Israeli violations of the agreement, while Israel threatened to resume the war if that happened. However, by Friday, both sides signalled the swap would go ahead as originally planned.

The Palestinian health ministry said on Tuesday that 92 people have been killed and 822 wounded since the start of the truce.