Will the ceasefire agreement continue? 6th round of prisoner exchange begins: Hamas hands over 3 Israeli hostages to the Red Cross

In the 6th round of the prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel, 3 male Israeli hostages held in Gaza were handed over to International Red Cross teams. While Israel confirmed that the hostages had been delivered to the Red Cross, 369 Palestinian prisoners are expected to be released by Israel later in the day. According to the ceasefire agreement, Israel will hand over the 369 Palestinian prisoners to Red Cross teams in exchange for the 3 Israelis released by Hamas.

In exchange for the 3 released Israeli hostages, 369 Palestinian prisoners will be released today. Of these 369 Palestinian prisoners, 36 are serving life sentences, and 333 consist of Palestinians who were detained in the Gaza Strip after October 7, 2023.

In the sixth round of the prisoner exchange, the male Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, Alexander Sasha Troufanov, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Yair Horn, were released in the city of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, near the home of Yahya Sinwar, one of the killed leaders of Hamas. Red Cross teams took custody of the hostages and set off to transport them to Israel.

It is known that Sagui Dekel-Chen is a dual US-Israeli citizen, and Alexander Sasha Troufanov is a dual Russian-Israeli citizen. With the release of 3 Israeli hostages in the sixth round, the number of Israeli hostages released from the Gaza Strip has reached 19.

MESSAGE FROM HAMAS TO TRUMP

In the sixth round of the prisoner exchange, Hamas's armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, responded to Trump's plan for the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza. While posters on the platform set up in the city of Khan Yunis emphasized 'resistance to liberate Palestine,' the flags of some Arab states were also added to the posters.

During the ceremony held for the release of the three hostages, Qassam Brigades fighters gave an Israeli hostage an hourglass model with 'Time is running out' written in three languages: Hebrew, Arabic, and English. It was also observed that gifts were given to the Israeli hostages.

In a speech he gave on the platform during his release, one of the hostages, Sagui Dekel-Chen, stated the following:

'I want the Israeli government to do everything it can for the ceasefire agreement to continue.'

Israeli hostage Yair Horn expressed the following:

'Our time is running out, the families' time is running out, the hostages' time is running out. All hostages need to return home; they have no more time left.'

Alexander Sasha Troufanov, who is a dual Russian-Israeli citizen, said, 'Today, after 498 days of captivity, we have been released. We are happy, but we must not forget the remaining hostages.'

On the other hand, in a written statement made by the Israeli army, it was announced that Red Cross teams had handed over the 3 released Israeli hostages to officials from the Israeli army and the internal intelligence service Shin Bet, and that the hostages had crossed into Israel.

CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT IN GAZA

The ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement reached between Hamas and Israel went into effect on Sunday, January 19, at 12:15 PM (GMT+3). Within the scope of the agreement, on Monday, January 27, the Netzarim Corridor was opened for the passage of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from south to north, and the Israeli army withdrew from the Netzarim Corridor on February 9.

The Rafah Border Crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt was opened on February 1 for the evacuation of the sick and wounded after an 8-month occupation by the Israeli army. In the first five rounds of the prisoner exchange, 766 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and 16 Israeli and 5 Thai hostages in Gaza had been released.

According to the three-phase ceasefire agreement, a total of over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be released during the 42-day first phase.