Hamas freed three thin and pale Israeli hostages from captivity in Gaza on Saturday, prolonging a fragile cease-fire with Israel that seemed on the brink of collapse earlier this week.
The Palestinian captors forced the Israelis to mount a stage in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis and give speeches in Hebrew against a backdrop of portraits of Hamas leaders.
At least one of the hostages was visibly gaunt, and another appeared frail. Rifle-toting militants affiliated with Hamas and another group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, stood nearby. Some carried Israeli weapons, part of the carefully choreographed theatrics that have also been on display in past releases.
On the stage, militants had put up pictures of Matan Zangauker, an Israeli hostage who has not yet been released, and his mother, Einav Zangauker, who has been campaigning for his freedom. They were displayed alongside an hourglass and the words “Time is running out.”
The gunmen did not, however, prod the men into thanking their captors, as happened last week. Those scenes shocked Israelis, who saw the show of gratitude as a form of psychological torture.
The three male civilians released Saturday were captured from a rural Israeli village at the start of the war in October 2023. They are Sasha Troufanov, 29; Iair Horn, 46; and Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, one of the few American citizens still held in Gaza.
In exchange, Israel is expected to free more than 360 Palestinians from its prisons, including 36 serving life sentences for attacks on Israelis, according to the official Palestinian prisoners’ commission. It would be the sixth in a series of handovers laid out by the truce, and is likely to extend the cease-fire for at least a few more days. The arrangement, which began in late January, is set to expire in early March unless Israel and Hamas can agree to an extension.
The truce wobbled earlier this week after Hamas threatened to delay the hostage release because it said Israel had violated the deal, including by not sending sufficient tents and other gear into Gaza.
Israel then said it would resume the war if Hamas did not relent, while President Trump raised the stakes by promising to unleash “all hell” if Hamas did not release all of the scores of hostages still held in Gaza. By Friday, both sides signaled that the dispute had been resolved, and Mr. Trump did not seem set to make good on his threat.
Here’s what else to know:
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Public opinion: The condition of the three hostages could shape Israeli discourse about whether to extend the cease-fire. The three men released last week appeared gaunt and malnourished after nearly 500 days in captivity, prompting horror in Israel and calls to prolong the cease-fire to save all the other hostages still in captivity.
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Held in Gaza: The sides have agreed to release 33 Israelis who were taken hostage at the beginning of the war before the deal needs to be extended. Some of those slated for release are believed to be dead. If the deal collapses at that point, roughly 60 of those still unaccounted for — many of them presumed dead — would remain in Gaza.
