Israel had received three hostages on February 15 who were held captive by Hamas in Gaza for nearly 500 days.

The freed hostages—U.S. citizen Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, Alexander Sasha Troufanov, 29, and Iair Horn, 46—were released as part of the hostage-prisoner exchange deal under the ceasefire truce that began on January 19, 2025. However, Horn’s brother, Eitan, remains in Hamas captivity.

Tense Negotiations and Trump’s Ultimatum

The release almost did not take place. On February 10, Hamas temporarily halted the scheduled exchange, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire—an accusation Israel denied as false. U.S. President Donald Trump reacted by making a dire threat on February 11 that “all hell is going to break out” if Hamas did not release all the remaining hostages by noon on Saturday. Shortly thereafter, Hamas retreated and proceeded with the release as planned.

Hostage Swap for Palestinian Prisoners

In exchange for the three hostages, Israel released 369 Palestinian prisoners, including 36 who were serving life terms for terrorism offenses. Twelve of the 36 will be relocated to the West Bank, while the remaining 24 will be deported. Hamas has committed to releasing 12 more hostages by March 2 in return for more prisoner releases.

What’s Next?

While this latest exchange is progress, it is far short of Trump’s call for freedom for all 73 remaining hostages. The ball is now in Israel’s court regarding whether to continue negotiations on the same terms or turn to further action.