Middle East latest: Israel releases over 300 Palestinian prisoners after receiving 3 more hostages
Palestinian prisoners are greeted after being released from Israeli prison following a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. Credit: AP/Mahmoud Illean
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.
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