Israel-Gaza latest: Hamas hands over three hostages as 300 Palestinian prisoners to be released
Hamas has handed over three Israeli hostages on Saturday morning, including US-Israeli man Sagui Dekel-Chen.
The Palestinian militant group said it expects Israel to release more than 300 Palestinian prisoners and detainees as the ceasefire deal goes ahead after coming close to collapse earlier this week.
Hamas had suspended the release of hostages after accusing Israel of breaching ceasefire obligations, including delaying the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza, carrying out strikes across the enclave and hindering the entry of humanitarian aid.
But following threats from US president Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the militant group said on Thursday that it would go ahead with the scheduled release on Saturday.
Iair Horn and Russian-Israeli Sasha (Alexander) Trufanov are the two others being freed.
On Friday, a Hamas official confirmed three hostages would be released, including Mr Dekel-Chen, who was kidnapped from Nir Oz kibbutz during the attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
Last month, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem history professor Jonathan Dekel-Chen, told The Independent he was in the dark over the fate of his son.
So far, 19 Israeli hostages have been freed since the ceasefire began on 19 January.
