Three Israeli hostages including American dad Sagui Dekel-Chen released after near collapse of cease-fire deal
Hamas released three more Israeli hostages Saturday — including an American father of three — preserving the fragile cease-fire agreement that nearly imploded after the terrorists threatened to delay the release of any additional captives.Hamas and affiliated terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad turned over a trio of men kidnapped on Oct.7, 2023 — Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36; Alexander Troufanov, 29; and Yair Horn, 46 — to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has been facilitating the release of the hostages in Gaza. Dekel-Chen, Troufanov and Horn were paraded on stage in the propaganda ceremony in Khan Younis before each hostage spoke to the crowd of Hamas soldiers and citizens.The 42-day cease-fire agreement seemed on course to collapse this week after Hamas threatened to postpone indefinitely any additional hostage releases.The terror group accused Israel of violating various agreements in the truce deal, including allowing the delivery of tents and other aid for displaced Palestinians into the enclave. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with President Trump’s backing, thundered on Tuesday that if Hamas did not release “our hostages” by noon Saturday, fighting would swiftly resume in the war-ravaged territory. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday echoed Trump, warning that “all hell will break loose” if Hamas stopped releasing hostages and promised a “new Gaza war” would continue until the terrorists were finally eliminated.Hamas caved amid the saber rattling and agreed Thursday to hand over three hostages as previously agreed, claiming its delegation had spoken with Egyptian and Qatari officials about ensuring more aid was delivered.
It said the mediators promised to “remove all hurdles.” The three hostages freed were each kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Or during Hamas’ bloody cross-border attack on Oct.7, where an estimated 80 of the nearly 400 residents were taken captive and dragged to Gaza. ...