After the hostage deal had seemed to be on the brink of collapse, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced they would release three Israeli hostages on Saturday, returning to the terms of the agreement but ignoring the ultimatum of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) announced it will release Alexander (Sasha) Trupanov (29), a dual Russian-Israeli citizen.
Hamas declared shortly after that it would release Yair Horn (46) and dual U.S.-Israeli citizen Sagui Dekel-Chen (36).
Shortly after, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed the list of names was received by Israel. “This list is accepted by Israel and is being published with the families’ approval,” the PMO added.
With the announcements, the terror groups appeared to confirm their return to the hostage deal’s original terms, after claiming that Israel had made the concessions Hamas had demanded earlier this week.
The terror group declared Monday it would suspend the planned rounds of hostage releases “indefinitely,” citing alleged Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.
The following day, President Trump responded, “If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel [the ceasefire], and all bets are off.”
Israel endorsed this deadline with somewhat weaker language, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened that if Hamas does not return “our hostages” by Saturday noon, the ceasefire would end.
On Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is facilitating the exchanges of hostages for prisoners as part of the ceasefire agreement, stated it was “very concerned” about the conditions of the Israeli hostages remaining in Hamas’s captivity.
“The latest release operations reinforce the urgent need for ICRC access to those held hostage. We remain very concerned about the conditions of the hostages,” the Red Cross said.
“We have consistently reiterated that release and transfer operations should be carried out in a dignified and safe manner,” the Red Cross added.
The release of Trupanov comes after reports that Hamas had told Russia that he was too sick to be released. Last month a Russian diplomat said, “There is a firm promise from the Hamas leadership, given to the Russian side, that he will be returned alive and well.”
Trupanov was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with his mother and grandmother, who were released in the first hostage deal in November 2023. His father was murdered during the Hamas massacre.
Yair Horn was kidnapped by Hamas together with his brother Eitan, who is not slated to be released during the deal’s first phase.
On the morning of Oct. 7, Sagui Dekel-Chen was the first to raise the alarm in Kibbutz Nir Oz.
He made sure his pregnant wife and their children were safely locked in their bunker at home, before joining Kibbutz’s security team to repel the invasion. He fought for several hours before being kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.
