Hamas to free three Israeli hostages

Three Israeli men, all dual nationals who were abducted from the same kibbutz community during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack and held hostage by Gaza militants since, are set for release on Saturday.

Israeli authorities confirmed on Friday that Sasha Trupanov, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Yair Horn are due for release under a ceasefire deal with Palestinian group Hamas, which entered into force on January 19.

Sixteen Israeli hostages have so far been released under the truce deal in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli custody. Five Thai captives have been freed outside the scope of the accord.

The hostage-prisoner exchange scheduled for Saturday would be the sixth swap since the ceasefire began, halting more than 15 months of fighting.

Israeli-Russian Sasha Trupanov, 29, was kidnapped with his girlfriend Sapir Cohen from Nir Oz kibbutz in southern Israel, where the couple was visiting family.

He is held by Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, which has fought alongside Hamas in the Gaza Strip and has published video clips of him in captivity.