Hamas official says the militant group will release three hostages on Saturday
Hamas will free three hostages — Sagui Dekel-Chen, Sasha Alexander Troufanov and Iair Horn — on Saturday, a spokesperson for the militant group said Friday.
Abu Obaida, a spokesperson for Hamas' military wing Al Qassam Brigades, told NBC News on Friday that Hamas will release the three hostages according to the terms of the ceasefire deal it brokered with Israel on Jan. 19.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed that Israel had 'received' the list of names from Hamas in an official statement Friday.
Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, is an American Israeli who refurbished old buses into mobile tech classrooms for underserved children. He was kidnapped from kibbutz Nir Oz, where was living with his wife and their two daughters.
Iair Horn, 46, is an Argentine Israeli who was also kidnapped from his home in kibbutz Nir Oz along with his brother Eitan Horn, 38, who remains in captivity.
Sasha Alexander Troufanov, 29, is a Russian Israeli who was abducted along with his family in kibbutz Nir Oz. His father was murdered in captivity, while his female relatives were released last November. Troufanov will be freed separately by the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad, the group said Friday.
Hamas' announcement comes after it reversed a warning issued Thursday that it would indefinitely postpone hostage-prisoner swaps over Israeli violations of the truce, after holding talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators on Wednesday.
Under the first phase of the deal, due to last 42 days, Hamas has incrementally released 16 of 33 hostages.
During the Hamas-led terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023, 1,200 people were killed and 251 captured, according to Israeli officials.
The ensuing military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and forcibly displaced most of its 2.3 million population.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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