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Three hostages, including the American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, are set to be freed on Saturday as part of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel. In exchange, Israel will release 369 Palestinians from Israeli prisons. Read our live blog for all the latest developments on the ceasefire in Gaza.
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The three hostages set to be released are: Iair Horn, 46, a dual citizen of Israel and Argentina; Sagui Dekel Chen, 36, who is American-Israeli, and Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29, who holds Israeli and Russian citizenship.
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In exchange, 369 Palestinians will be released from Israeli prisons. According to the Hamas-linked Prisoner’s Information Office, 36 of them are serving life sentences.
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It will be the sixth swap since the ceasefire took effect on January 19. So far, 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners have been freed during the first phase of the truce.
Dozens of hostages still remain in Gaza, many believed to be dead
Of the 251 people abducted, 73 remain in Gaza, around half of whom are believed to be dead. Nearly all the remaining hostages are men, including Israeli soldiers.
Sixth swap since January 19
This will be the sixth swap since the Gaza ceasefire took effect on January 19. So far, 21 hostages and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners have been freed during the first phase of the truce.
Almost 400 Palestinian prisoners to be freed in exchange
According to the Hamas-linked Prisoners’ Information Office, 369 Palestinians will be released from Israeli prisons as part of the swap. As many as 36 of them have been serving life sentences in Israeli prisons.
Among the most prominent is Ahmed Barghouti, 48, a close aide of Marwan Barghouti, a militant leader and iconic Palestinian political figure.
Israel sentenced Ahmed Barghouti to life on charges that he dispatched suicide bombers during the Second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, in the early 2000s to carry out attacks that killed Israeli civilians. He was arrested alongside Barghouti in 2002.
Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel Chen and Sasha Troufanov set for release
The three hostages set to be released Saturday after more than 16 months in captivity are: Iair Horn, 46, a dual citizen of Israel and Argentina; Sagui Dekel Chen, 36, who is American-Israeli, and Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29, who holds Israeli and Russian citizenship.
The trio were were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where some 80 of roughly 400 residents were taken hostage during the October 7 attack.
Horn was abducted along with his brother, Eitan Horn, who had been staying with him at the time. Eitan remains in captivity.
Dekel Chen had been working outside when militants stormed the kibbutz. His wife hid in a safe room with their two daughters. She gave birth to their third daughter two months later.
Troufanov was taken hostage along with his grandmother, mother and girlfriend. The three women were released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023. Troufanov’s father was killed in the October 7 attack.
From left to right: Iair Horn, Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov and Sagui Dekel Chen.
Photo: Hostages Family Forum shows, AP
Good morning, and welcome to our live blog on today’s hostage release.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
Yesterday’s Developments
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Hamas on Friday said it expects talks on Gaza truce phase two to begin ‘early next week’.
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US President Donald Trump said he would take a hard stance on Gaza on Saturday, but did not give more details about his plan for the Palestinian enclave for which he has already proposed a US takeover.
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Jordan’s foreign minister said Arab countries are putting together a plan that would rebuild Gaza without displacing its people, guarantee security and governance.
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