In Gaza, three more hostages, taken on October 7, 2023, were released by the Hamas on Saturday. Like in the previous releases, the three men were first paraded on a stage by masked and armed fighters of the terrorist organization and then handed over to the International Red Cross. In exchange, Israel plans to release 369 Palestinian prisoners. So far, a total of 21 hostages have been freed as part of the latest hostage deal, with Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinian inmates from its prisons in return.
The truce agreement between the Israeli government and Hamas envisions the release of a total of 33 hostages in the first six-week phase. At least eight of them, according to Israeli reports, are deceased and the focus now is on repatriating their remains. In exchange, nearly 2,000 Palestinians are expected to be released from Israeli custody.
The hostage deal, however, has been on shaky ground lately. The Hamas had initially threatened to suspend the releases due to alleged Israeli violations of the agreed-upon agreement. Later, it backtracked on the decision.