Israel begins releasing hundreds of Palestinians after Hamas hostage swap
By : Sandhya
Israeli forces started releasing hundreds of prisoners as Hamas freed three Israeli hostages under the ceasefire deal, with the truce holding despite recent tensions. Before being freed, the hostages were paraded before a crowd by militants in southern Gaza. They included Iair Horn, 46; Sagui Dekel Chen, 36; and Alexander Troufanov, 29.
This was the sixth such exchange since the ceasefire began on 19 January. Prior to Saturday, 21 hostages had already been freed, along with over 700 Palestinian prisoners.
The almost month-long truce has been fragile in recent times, with disagreements surfacing between Israel and Hamas. Tensions escalated after US President Donald Trump suggested the removal of over 2 million Palestinians from Gaza, leaving the future of the ceasefire uncertain. Following talks with Egypt and Qatar, Hamas agreed to release more hostages.