Hostages Freed, Ceasefire Hangs in Balance

Three Israeli hostages, including an American father of three, were freed by Hamas on Saturday. This release kept a fragile ceasefire from collapsing. The hostages, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Alexander Troufanov, and Yair Horn, were kidnapped during a brutal attack on October 7, 2023. They were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza. This exchange was part of a deal that has been shaky, with Hamas threatening to delay further releases. The ceasefire, which started in January, has been rocky. Hamas accused Israel of not following through on promises, like delivering aid to Palestinians. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas that fighting would resume if hostages weren’t released. Hamas, backed by Egyptian and Qatari officials, agreed to release the hostages after threats of renewed conflict. The three hostages were taken from Kibbutz Nir Or, where many residents were captured and taken to Gaza. Dekel-Chen, an American-Israeli, was fixing a bus when he saw terrorists approaching. He locked his wife and daughters in a safe room before trying to defend the kibbutz. His wife gave birth to their third daughter while he was in captivity. Dekel-Chen was overjoyed to learn about his daughter’s birth. Horn, an Argentinian-Israeli, was kidnapped with his brother, who is still held captive. Troufanov, a Russian-Israeli, was taken hostage with his mother, grandmother, and girlfriend. His father was killed in the attack. The women were released earlier during a truce. Israel and Hamas have conducted six swaps during the six-week truce, which ended 15 months of fighting in Gaza. The fighting began after a Hamas massacre in Israel that killed 1, 200 people and saw 251 kidnapped. The truce’s future is uncertain. The deal involves exchanging 33 Israeli hostages for nearly 2, 000 Palestinian prisoners. As of Saturday, 24 hostages were freed, and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners were released. Another 369 Palestinian prisoners are expected to be turned over, including 36 serving life sentences. Talks about the next stage of the deal, which would see the release of all remaining live hostages in exchange for Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent cease-fire, have not started. Netanyahu faces pressure from his far-right allies to resume fighting in Gaza and implement a plan proposed by Trump calling for the forced resettlement of more than 2 million Gazans in neighboring Arab nations. Those nations have largely refused to accept any Palestinians, though King Abdullah II of Jordan on Tuesday told Trump his nation will accept 2, 000 sick children from Gaza.