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Hamas, Islamic Jihad Name Three Hostages to Be Released on Saturday
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
The terrorist groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza said they would release three hostages — US-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36; Russian-Israeli Alexandre Sasha Troufanov, 29; and Argentinian-Israeli Yair Horn, 46 — on Saturday, in accordance with the terms of the ceasefire with Israel.
All three men were seized in Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the communities around the Gaza Strip that was overrun by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023. Horn’s brother Eitan was taken at the same time and remains in captivity.
Troufanov was being held captive by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an Islamist terrorist group allied with Hamas. Both groups are backed by Iran.
Hamas said Israel was expected to release 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including dozens serving life sentences, in exchange for the hostages.
The announcement of the names by Hamas, the main terrorist group in Gaza, came after days of uncertainty about whether the ceasefire reached last month between Israel and Hamas would hold, followed intense efforts by Egyptian and Qatari mediators to keep the US-backed agreement on track.
A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel accepted the list, but that was later corrected to say Israel had simply “received” the list.
“This was a mere factual description that does not reflect an Israeli comment on the issue,” the updated statement noted.
Hamas had earlier threatened not to release more hostages after it accused Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire by blocking aid from entering Gaza, drawing counterthreats of a resumption of fighting from Israel.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates the aid deliveries, also said 4,200 humanitarian aid trucks had entered Gaza this week, carrying food, fuel, medical supplies, tents, and shelter equipment. Some international aid groups say the amounts are insufficient to meet the needs of the population.
Even before the Hamas threat not to proceed with the hostage release, Israelis had been outraged by the emaciated appearance of the three hostages released last week and by the public display before a Gaza crowd when they were handed over to Red Cross officials.
As the standoff continued, the Israeli military said it was calling up reserve units and had placed forces around the Gaza Strip on high alert for a resumption of combat operations.
US President Donald Trump also weighed in, saying the ceasefire should be canceled and “all hell break loose” unless all the hostages were released on Saturday.
Hamas agreed last month to hand over 33 Israeli hostages, including women, children, and older men, in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, during a 42-day truce in which Israeli forces would pull back from some of their positions in Gaza.
The truce was intended to open the way for a second phase of negotiations to return remaining hostages and complete the withdrawal of Israeli forces before a final end to the war and the rebuilding of Gaza.
Doubts about whether the deal would hold grew sharply after US President Donald Trump called for Palestinians to be moved permanently out of Gaza and for the enclave to be turned over to the United States to be redeveloped.
The call was rejected by Palestinian groups and countries in the Arab world and labelled as “ethnic cleansing” by critics including United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Hamas launched the Gaza war with its Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel, during which Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
As of this writing, 76 hostages remain in Gaza, including 73 kidnapped on Oct. 7.
The post Hamas, Islamic Jihad Name Three Hostages to Be Released on Saturday first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.