Hamas terror group and Israel complete sixth hostage-prisoner swap

Palestinian militants released three Israeli hostages on Saturday, February 15, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian inmates freed by Israel, completing the latest swap despite growing concerns that the Gaza truce deal was nearing collapse. An AFP journalist witnessed masked Hamas gunmen parading the hostages onto a stage in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Yunis, where they were made to speak into a microphone before being handed over to the Red Cross and transported back to Israeli territory. The three men, carrying gift bags and certificates from their captors, urged the completion of further hostage exchanges under the ceasefire agreement.

Shortly after, a bus carrying Palestinian prisoners left Israel’s Ofer Prison and was met with cheering crowds in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, an AFP journalist reported. Additional buses transported inmates from an Israeli prison in the Negev desert to the Gaza Strip.

 

Saturday’s exchange marked the sixth swap since the truce took effect on January 19. It followed threats from Hamas to halt further hostage releases over alleged Israeli violations and warnings from Israel to resume military operations if the deal fell apart.

 

The freed hostages—Israeli-American Sagui Dekel-Chen, Israeli-Russian Sasha Trupanov, and Israeli-Argentine Yair Horn—had been held captive since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which triggered the ongoing conflict. Their families reacted with relief and joy.

 

“Finally, Sasha can be surrounded by his loved ones and begin a new path,” Trupanov’s family said in a statement. “My breath has returned. He looks so handsome,” Dekel-Chen’s wife, Avital, said in a call to her sister, aired by Israel’s Kan public broadcaster.

 

Later, hundreds of Palestinians freed by Israel arrived in Khan Yunis, waving to a jubilant crowd. According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, Israel released 333 Gazans detained during the war, along with 36 prisoners serving life sentences, 24 of whom were slated for deportation under the truce terms. Israel confirmed a total of 369 releases.

 

Images on Israeli media showed Palestinian prisoners wearing sweatshirts featuring the prison service logo, a Star of David, and the slogan: “We will not forget and we will not forgive.”

 

A Hamas official stated on Friday, February 14, that discussions on a second phase of the ceasefire were expected to begin early next week. The negotiations aim to establish steps toward a more permanent end to the war.

 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose country is Israel’s top ally and a key mediator, was set to arrive in Israel on Saturday, February 15, for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the truce.

 

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an Israeli campaign group, warned against allowing the ceasefire agreement to collapse, urging negotiators to “continue to use this momentum to make a swift and responsible agreement for everyone” still held in Gaza.

 

In Tel Aviv, a crowd gathered to watch the live feed of the exchange, waving Israeli flags and holding signs with messages like “Sorry and welcome back” and “Complete the ceasefire.”

 

Concerns have been raised over the condition of both Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. The public display of the emaciated hostages last week sparked outrage, while several Palestinians released from Israeli custody were hospitalized, with four more transferred to a hospital in the West Bank on Saturday, February 15, according to the Red Crescent.

The ceasefire has come under pressure following U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to relocate Gaza’s population of more than two million to Egypt or Jordan. Arab nations have strongly rejected the plan, with Saudi Arabia set to host a summit on Thursday, February 13, with leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

 

A joint statement from Christian leaders in Jerusalem also insisted that Gazans “must not be forced into exile.”

 

The October 7 attack by Hamas killed 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli official figures. The militants also took 251 hostages, of whom 70 remain in Gaza, including 35 that the Israeli military says are dead.

 

Following Saturday’s release, Netanyahu’s office stated that it was working with the United States to secure the freedom of the remaining hostages “as quickly as possible,” though no further details were provided.

 

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has so far resulted in at least 48,264 deaths in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from Gaza’s health ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.