Hamas names hostages set for release today

JERUSALEM — Hamas on Friday published the names of three more hostages to be released, signaling that an impasse over the immediate future of the ceasefire with Israel had been overcome after days of recriminations between the two sides.

The three men are set to be freed today as part of a series of exchanges between Israel and Hamas. Hamas named them in a statement as Alexander Troufanov, 29; Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36; and Iair Horn, 46. Dekel-Chen is one of the last U.S. citizens held in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, the Israeli government confirmed that Hamas had formally passed along the names of the three men. President Donald Trump had earlier seemed to demand that all hostages still held in Gaza be released by Saturday, but Israeli leaders appeared willing to continue with the timetable as laid out in the truce.

Israel is set to free more than 360 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the three men, mostly detainees from Gaza. Thirty-six of them are serving life sentences, including Ahmed Barghouti, who was convicted of orchestrating attacks that killed 12 Israelis.

The multistage ceasefire deal signed in January is intended to stop the devastating fighting in Gaza. It stipulates an initial 42-day truce, during which Hamas will free at least 33 hostages in exchange for over 1,500 Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas had said this week that it would indefinitely suspend the release, claiming that Israel had violated the deal, including by continuing to send troops beyond the ceasefire lines and by not allowing in enough shelters for hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians. After mediation by Qatar and Egypt, Hamas said Thursday that it was ready to move ahead, provided that Israel upheld its own commitments.

At least 60,000 prefabricated housing units and 200,000 tents should be delivered to Gaza during the first phase of the deal, in addition to equipment for rubble clearance, according to a copy of the agreement’s text seen by The New York Times.

As of Friday, it remained unclear whether Israel had recommitted to allowing the supplies to enter Gaza. Omer Dostri, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Thursday that Israel was not allowing in prefabricated housing or heavy construction equipment, without explaining the rationale. He did not say whether that might change.

But even as the deal appears back on track for the near future, the wrangling has prompted further pessimism over whether the ceasefire will last. The first phase is set to expire in early March, and Israel and Hamas have yet to agree on terms to extend the agreement.

They were supposed to begin indirect talks over the second phase last week, including negotiating an end to the war, the release of the remaining living hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

But Thursday, Dostri said that Israel was “not currently conducting negotiations over the second phase of the deal.” Netanyahu has faced pressure from members of his right-wing governing coalition to resume the fight against Hamas after the six weeks are up.

The three Israeli captives have been held incommunicado since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage. All three were abducted from Nir Oz, an Israeli border community devastated by the assault; roughly a quarter of its 400 residents were either killed or abducted.

For Horn’s family, his release will most likely be bittersweet. His brother, Eitan Horn, has not been included on the list of 33 Israeli hostages to be freed, meaning his freedom has been delayed to the nebulous “second phase.”

Iair Horn was a longtime resident of Nir Oz who managed the local pub. Eitan was visiting his brother for a holiday weekend when the Hamas attack began, according to their father, Itzik Horn, who added that he had lost contact with them soon afterward.

“Let them free all the Palestinian prisoners we have here, all the terrorists — what do I care,” Itzik Horn said in an interview with the Times in December 2023. “The most important thing isn’t to defeat Hamas. The only victory here is to bring back all the hostages.”

Dekel-Chen, a father of three young daughters, was taken as he worked in Nir Oz’s machine workshop on the morning of the assault. He has never met his third daughter, who was born two months after his abduction, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an advocacy group.

His father, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, has campaigned tirelessly for his release, including trips to the White House to meet with U.S. officials. He has criticized the Israeli government, which he has argued did not do enough to free the captives earlier.

Troufanov, an engineer for an Amazon subsidiary, was abducted by a smaller militant group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which also confirmed Friday that he would be released. His father was killed during the Hamas-led attack and his mother, grandmother and girlfriend were all taken hostage as well. They were released along with more than 100 other hostages during a weeklong truce in November 2023.

In November, Palestinian Islamic Jihad published a hostage video featuring Troufanov, in which he appeared weary, with an untrimmed beard and bags under his eyes. He mentioned a lack of food and water.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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