Three Israeli hostages in Gaza handed over to Red Cross

Three Israeli hostages were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza by Palestinian militants on February 15, in the sixth exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners under the ceasefire deal that came into effect last month, Report informs via CNN.

American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, Russian-Israeli Alexandre Troufanov and Argentinian-Israeli Iair Horn were released in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, around 10 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET).

They were seen exiting vehicles surrounded by militants, who ushered the hostages on stage, where the captives addressed the crowd.

The men appeared to be in better health than the three hostages released the previous week, whose condition drew condemnation from Israeli officials.

Israel is expected to release 369 Palestinian prisoners later Saturday, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said Friday, 333 of whom were arrested in Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

It will be the largest number of Palestinian prisoners released during the exchanges so far.

A crowd of armed militants gathered in Gaza ahead of the release, which took place close to the house of slain former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, killed by Israel in October.

Images showed masked fighters carrying weapons and gathering around a stage with flags and images depicting Sinwar and other militant leaders.

“No migration except to Jerusalem,” read a banner festooning the stage, in an apparent rebuke to US President Donald Trump and his plans for a mass displacement of Palestinians from the enclave.