Hamas releases three Israeli captives for 369 Palestinian prisoners under ceasefire deal

The fighters on Saturday paraded the captives onto a stage in Gaza's southern city of Khan Yunis, where the Israelis addressed the crowd before their handover to the Red Cross.

The three men, holding gift bags given and a certificate to mark the end of their captivity, called for the completion of further exchanges of captives under the ceasefire deal.

Sources from Hamas and Islamic Jihad said the resistance groups had deployed about 200 fighters for the handover ceremony.

The release is the sixth since the truce took effect on January 19. It came after fears last week that the deal was near collapse after Israel’s refusal to allow enough humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group said Israel was to release 369 inmates in exchange. Most of them are prisoners from the Gaza Strip who were arrested after the landmark October 7 operation inside southern settlements, it said.

The ceasefire has been under massive strain since US President Donald Trump ignited a firestorm of controversy with his remarks suggesting that the US should “take over” Gaza, remove its people, and “own” the Palestinian territory.

He has proposed moving Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to Egypt and Jordan, arguing they would be “better off”.

Hamas, the governing authority in Gaza, has called Trump’s idea “ridiculous and absurd”. Arab and other Islamic countries have vociferously rejected the plan.