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Hamas releases Israeli hostages, Palestinian prisoners freed in latest Gaza swap 

Published : Sunday, 16 February, 2025 at 12:00 AM  Count : 356
KHAN YUNIS, Feb 15: Palestinian militants handed three Israeli hostages over to the Red Cross on Saturday, while buses carrying freed Palestinian prisoners rolled out of two Israeli jails in the latest exchange under an ongoing Gaza truce deal.

An AFP journalist saw masked Hamas militants parade the hostages onto a stage in Gaza's southern city of Khan Yunis, where they were told to address the crowd before their handover to the Red Cross.

Clutching gift bags given by their captors and a certificate to mark the end of their captivity, the three men, flanked by fighters, called for the completion of further hostage exchanges under the ceasefire deal.

Not long after, a busload of Palestinian prisoners departed the Israeli-run Ofer Prison and was greeted by a cheering crowd in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, an AFP journalist saw.

More buses full of prisoners pulled out of an Israeli prison in the Negev desert heading towards Gaza, according to another AFP journalist.

Saturday's swap, the sixth since the truce took effect on January 19, came after fears that the deal between Israel and Hamas was near collapse.

The Palestinian group had threatened to pause hostage releases over alleged violations, while Israel threatened to resume the war if it did, but on Friday both sides signalled the swap would go ahead as originally planned. —AFP



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