Trump urges Hamas to free all remaining hostages

Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas exchanged three Israeli male hostages for 369 Palestinian prisoners on February 15. The release comes 498 days after Hamas abducted them on October 7, 2023, and marks the sixth exchange since a cease-fire agreement between the two sides took effect on January 19. To date, 24 Israeli hostages and nearly 1,100 Palestinian prisoners have been released across six exchanges.

Earlier, on the 10th, Hamas claimed that "Israel violated the ceasefire agreement" and announced it would delay the release of the hostages. However, after U.S. President Donald Trump warned on the 14th that "if the hostages are not released by noon tomorrow, we will respond strongly," and Israel similarly vowed to take strong action, the hostages were released as scheduled.

The three individuals released on the 15th were all dual citizens: Israeli-American Sagui Dekel Chen, 36, Israeli-Russian Sasha Troufanov, 29, and Israeli-Argentine Iair Horn, 46. Before their release, Hamas forced the three to speak in front of Palestinian crowds. They were then handed over to the International Red Cross in Khan Yunis, located in the southern Gaza Strip. The three were later flown by helicopter to Israel's largest city, Tel Aviv, where they were reunited with their families. All three are reported to be in relatively good health.

Mr. Dekel-Chen, who has three daughters, first learned about his youngest child, born in December 2023, two months after he was abducted, according to the Times of Israel. He expressed joy upon hearing his wife’s announcement that she had named her Shachar Mazal, which means “lucky dawn” in Hebrew, calling the name “perfect.” Mr. Dekel-Chen was kidnapped from the Nir Oz collective farm (kibbutz) near the Gaza Strip. He said he was informed of his release just two days before it occurred.

Mr. Troufanov later learned that his father had been killed in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, the same day he was kidnapped. He was reportedly devastated by the news of his father's death.

Even after the release of the three hostages, President Trump reiterated his call for Hamas to “release all of the remaining hostages.” He set a deadline of 12 p.m. EST on February 15 for the full release of the remaining hostages.


Hyun-Seok Lim lhs@donga.com