3 hostages set free in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians

As the three Israeli hostages released today are reunited with their families, they will also be confronted with heartbreaking gaps in their knowledge about their loved ones and the lives they left behind.

Sasha Alexander Troufanov was abducted along with his family in kibbutz Nir Oz. While his female relatives were released last November, his father died in captivity.

“We don’t know if he is aware that his father, Vitaly, was murdered on October 7,” Sasha’s family said in a statement released today by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. “This knowledge — or lack thereof — will completely transform his homecoming from a day of great joy to one of deep mourning for his beloved father.”

It is also unclear if Iair Horn knows that his brother, 38-year-old Eitan Horn, remains in captivity

Sagui Dekeln-Chen, meanwhile, has not yet met his third daughter, Sachar, who was born after he was taken hostage on October 7.

A cheering and whistling crowd greeted Palestinian prisoners and detainees as they were freed in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank today following the release of three Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip.

After stepping out of white vans that had transported them from prison, freed men were carried aloft on the shoulders of those who had gathered to greet them, before sharing emotional reunions with people in the crowd.

Some onlookers waved green, red, white and black Palestinian flags and others the yellow flag of Fatah, a Palestinian faction and Hamas rival.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement celebrating the release of Sagui Dekel-Chen, Sasha Alexander Troufanov and Iair Horn.

“We welcome them with a big hug,” it said. “We will assist in their rehabilitation after the long and tortuous days in captivity.”

Netanyahu’s office added that Israel was working “in full coordination with the United States with the goal of rescuing all our hostages.”

The three hostages released today have crossed into Israel, according to the country’s military.

“The returning hostages are currently on their way to an initial reception point in southern Israel, where they will be reunited with members of their families,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

The three hostages released by Hamas:

Sagui Dekel-Chen, a 36-year-old American Israeli who refurbished old buses into mobile tech classrooms for underserved children, was kidnapped from kibbutz Nir Oz, where he was living with his wife and their two daughters.

He is set to be taken to Sheba Hospital in Israel later today alongside 29-year-old Sasha Alexander Troufanov, a Russian Israeli who was abducted along with his family in kibbutz Nir Oz. His father died in captivity, while his female relatives were released last November.

Iair Horn, 46, an Argentine Israeli, was also kidnapped from his home in kibbutz Nir Oz along with his brother Eitan Horn, 38, who remains in captivity. He is expected to be taken to Ichilov Hospital.

The three hostages released today have been transferred to Israeli custody inside the Gaza strip, the country’s military said.

The Israel Defense Forces said the hostages would be taken to Israeli territory where they will undergo “an initial medical assessment.”

Crowds cheered and waved Israeli flags in so-called hostage square in Tel Aviv, watching screens showing Sagui Dekel-Chen, Sasha Alexander Troufanov and Iair Horn being released and handed over to the Red Cross after 16 months in captivity.

Several people could be seen holding up pictures of the hostages that have been freed, while others simply jumped for joy and raised their hands to the sky. 

Afterward, some among the crowd could be seen singing with tears in their eyes. Others with their arms around each other standing in silent embrace. 

Each of the hostages have now been led off stage and transferred to the Red Cross vehicles, which will take the trio into Israel — a drive that is likely to take about 30 minutes.

The vehicles that departed the staging area were accompanied by a truck full of armed fighters, while civilians chased alongside holding up cameras.

The Israeli military also announced that the hostages have been transferred.

Three hostages, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Sasha Alexander Troufanov and Iair Horn, have emerged from the white van to cheers from the crowd, and have been ordered onto the stage alongside a number of fighters holding weapons.

The trio each appear to be holding a document and a bag, and are lining up on the stage with the gunmen. As during last week’s release, they are also each speaking to the crowd, although this time it appears they are not being interviewed directly. 

The returning hostages appear to be in much better shape than Eli Sharabi, Or Levy, and Ohad Ben Ami, whose emaciated condition when they were released last week prompted anger and dismay in Israel.

A member of the Red Cross has taken to the stage alongside a fighter, who has presented them with a document to sign, as we have seen in previous releases.

At least three vehicles have arrived at the staging area ahead of the hostage release in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

One of them, a white van, appears similar to the vehicle that has carried returning hostages to previous releases. It was accompanied to the square by a truck carrying a number of fighters holding guns.

Some 15 to 20 colleagues, friends and family of American Israeli hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, have gathered in Giv’ot Bar to watch the release of 36-year-old today.

There’s bottle of champagne ready to be popped, but the energy is quite calm. Israeli flags and yellow flags for the hostages are tucked into the couch where everyone is sitting.

All of them are wearing T-shirts with Sagui’s face on them and watching Channel 12 on Israeli television, which was running the release live.

Red Cross vehicles have arrived at the arena in Khan Younis, where Hamas are set to release three male hostages today.

Video from the scene showed excited civilians racing to grab a photo of the convoy as it weaved its way through the crowds into the square, some of them scrambling on top of cars to capture the moment.

The three cars have parked but nobody has emerged from the vehicles. Hamas vehicles carrying the hostages have not arrived yet.

Scores of fighters from the Al-Qassam and Saraya al-Quds battalions have lined up by the stage where today’s hostage release is expected to take place today They holding weapons in what has become a familiar display of force by Hamas and other militants at hostage releases.

Hundreds of civilians have also gathered round to watch today’s handover, where Sagui Dekel-Chen, Sasha Alexander Troufanov and Iair Horn, are set to be released.

As with previous releases, Hamas have set up Palestinian flags and banners of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the handover square. a giant posted to the left of the stage appears to show the final moments of former Hamas military chief, Yahya Sinwar, sitting in a red armchair in the room where he was killed in October.

A stage in the Gaza city of Khan Younis set up by Hamas ahead of the planned hostage release has one poster that reads “no migration except to Jerusalem.”

President Donald Trump sparked controversy when he said that the United States “will take over the Gaza Strip” for development. Trump has further said that Palestinians would be resettled outside the Gaza Strip under his plan.

In an interview that aired Monday on Fox News, Trump was asked Palestinians would have the right to return to the land. Trump said, “No, they wouldn’t because they’re going to have much better housing, much better.”

His comments prompted a backlash and skepticism from the leaders of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and others.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission says that 369 prisoners held by Israel will be released today as part of the release of three hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

The commission said that the vast majority, 333, were detained from Gaza after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The rest include 29 from the West Bank, and seven from Jerusalem and its suburbs.

The releases today mark the sixth exchange under the first phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas will free three hostages — Sagui Dekel-Chen, Sasha Alexander Troufanov and Iair Horn — today, a spokesperson for the militant group said Friday.

Abu Obaida, a spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, Al Qassam Brigades, told NBC News on Friday that Hamas will release the three hostages according to the terms of the ceasefire deal it brokered with Israel on Jan. 19.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that Israel had “received” the list of names from Hamas in an official statement Friday.

Dekel-Chen, 36, is an American Israeli who refurbished old buses into mobile tech classrooms for underserved children. He was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where he was living with his wife and their two daughters.

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