After days of brinksmanship in which both Hamas and Israel threatened to breach their current ceasefire, Hamas has named three more Israeli hostages that it will release in accordance with the ceasefire’s terms on Saturday.
The hostages set for release include the only remaining American citizen set to be freed during the current phase of the deal and an Amazon employee whose captivity became a rallying point for some of his colleagues. They are:
- Sagui Dekel-Chen: One of three American citizens thought to remain alive in Gaza at the ceasefire’s start, Dekel-Chen, 36, is believed to have been shot on Oct. 7. A father of three, including a daughter born in his absence, he was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where his mother was injured and played dead to avoid being taken hostage. His father, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, was born and raised in the United States and is a professor at Hebrew University.
- Yair Horn: An immigrant from Argentina, Horn, 45, was abducted from his home on Kibbutz Nir Oz with his younger brother Eitan, who remains a hostage.
- Sasha Trufanov: The only Russian citizen remaining in Gaza, Trufanov, 28, has drawn advocacy from Moscow as well as from fellow employees at Amazon, who have criticized the company for not advocating more publicly on his behalf. He was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz with his mother, grandmother and girlfriend, who were released during a November 2023 ceasefire; his father was murdered on Oct. 7. He has appeared in multiple videos released by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, most recently in November 2024.
If the men are released as planned, there will be 73 hostages remaining in Gaza, of whom 70 were taken when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. At least 43 of the remaining hostages are thought to be dead.
During the two weeks that remain in the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas has committed to releasing 14 more hostages, six of whom are alive. In recent days, following the release of three men last week, signs of life have been reported for a dozen male hostages — as well as harrowing details about the conditions of their captivity.
Israel is due to release a larger number of Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for the hostages.
The latest release will leave just one American thought to be alive in captivity in Gaza: Edan Alexander, a New Jersey native who joined the Israeli army after graduating from high school. There are also four dead hostages who held American citizenship.
Earlier this week, Hamas said it was suspending further releases of hostages, and then U.S. President Donald Trump, who is credited with successfully pressuring Israel and Hamas to strike the current ceasefire, added a further dose of uncertainty when he said “all bets are off” if all of the remaining hostages were not released by Saturday at noon. Israel endorsed that demand.
In subsequent days, however, both sides retreated from those positions and agreed to proceed with the original deal they struck last month.
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