Relief as hostages released after near-collapse of truce

Three Israeli hostages were released by Hamas yesterday in exchange for nearly 400 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel

- ALEX CROFT

The scheduled release of three Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners went ahead yesterday, as the region let out a collective sigh of relief after the near-collapse of the fragile truce during the week.

American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, Argentine-Israeli Iair Horn, 46, and Russian-Israeli Sasha Trufanov, 29, were released in the morning, before Israel began the process of releasing an expected 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

But four of the Palestinian prisoners were found in a “critical condition” and rushed to hospital by the Palestinian Red Crescent, with others looking gaunt following their release.

Scenes at the hostage release were more muted than usual after Hamas-led militants kept the crowd back, following the chaos of previous exchanges. The hostages were taken up on stage where they spoke into a microphone, holding onto what appeared to be gifts and certificates of their release.

The Palestinian militant group had set up a sign reading “no migration except to Jerusalem”, which they confirmed after the release was a reference to president Donald Trump’s proposals to forcibly transfer Gaza’s two million-strong population to Egypt and Jordan.