Gaza militants handed three Israeli hostages over to the Red Cross on Saturday in an exchange that is also set to see the release of 369 Palestinians from Israeli custody, the latest such swap under an ongoing truce deal.

An AFP journalist saw masked Hamas militants parade the hostages onto a stage in Gaza southern city of Khan Yunis, where they were told to address the crowd before their handover to the Red Cross.

Clutching gift bags given by their captors and a certificate to mark the end of their captivity, the three men, flanked by fighters, called for the completion of further hostage exchanges under the ceasefire deal.
The release, the sixth since the truce took effect on January 19, came after fears last week that the deal between Israel and Hamas was near collapse. But on Friday both sides signalled that Saturday swap would go ahead.

Dozens of Hamas fighters lined up around the stage bearing the logo of the group armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, as Palestinian nationalist music played.

Sources from Hamas and Islamic Jihad said the groups had deployed about 200 militants for the handover ceremony.

A crowd also gathered in Tel Aviv “Hostages Square” to watch the exchange, with many carrying Israeli flags and posters in support of the captives.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had named the hostages as Israeli-American Sagui Dekel-Chen, Israeli-Russian Sasha Trupanov and Israeli-Argentinian Yair Horn.

They had been held by Gaza militants since Hamas October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war 16 months ago.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group said Israel was to release 369 inmates in exchange, with 24 of them expected to be deported.

Culled from Vanguard News

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