Hamas freed three more Israeli hostages on Saturday as Israel released 369 Palestinian prisoners, prolonging a fragile cease-fire in the Gaza Strip that appeared to be teetering only days ago.
The hostages — Alexander Troufanov, 29, known as Sasha; Iair Horn, 46; and Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, one of the few Americans still held in Gaza — were noticeably thinner and paler after spending 16 months in captivity. They had been abducted from the Israeli border village of Nir Oz during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that ignited the war in Gaza.
But they did not appear as emaciated as the three hostages released last Saturday, whose condition prompted outrage and horror in Israel.
Palestinian militants once again used the exchange, the sixth carried out under the first phase of the cease-fire, to stage a show intended to demonstrate that they still dominate Gaza, despite Israel’s devastating bombardment and ground invasion in response to the 2023 attack.
Dozens of gun-toting fighters affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad forced Mr. Troufanov, Mr. Horn and Mr. Dekel-Chen to mount a stage in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis and to give speeches in Hebrew, with portraits of Hamas leaders on the stage behind them.
On the stage, the militants also displayed photos of Matan Zangauker, an Israeli hostage still in captivity, and of his mother, Einav Zangauker, who has been campaigning for his freedom. They were shown alongside an hourglass and the words, “Time is running out.”
The militants, some carrying Israeli weapons, later gave the hourglass to Mr. Horn.
In a jab at President Trump’s recent call for Palestinians to leave Gaza en masse, a banner on the stage read “there is no migration except to Jerusalem.” Hamas — and much of the Arab world — have roundly rejected Mr. Trump’s proposal.
The exchange could sustain the cease-fire, at least for now. But the truce’s long-term future remains uncertain. The arrangement, which began in late January, is set to expire in early March unless Israel and Hamas agree to an extension.
The first phase of the truce took months of arduous negotiation to be agreed upon, and there has been little indication that Israel and Hamas have begun serious talks about the next stage, which is supposed to include an end to the war, the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of the remaining living hostages. More than 70 hostages — many of them presumed dead — remain in Gaza.
As the hostages were released on Saturday, hundreds of Israelis who had gathered in a square in Tel Aviv cheered, waved Israeli flags and shed tears of joy while they watched the handover on a large television screen.
The relief was a big change from the shock and fury that erupted in Israel last Saturday when Hamas released three gaunt and apparently malnourished hostages and forced them to thank their captors. This time, the captors did not prod the hostages to offer them thanks.
“Three pieces have returned to my heart,” said Doron Zexer, a prominent advocate for the hostages. “The joy now is a full one.”
Viki Cohen, the mother of an Israeli soldier still held captive in Gaza, said in an interview that the happiness of seeing more hostages released was tempered by anguish and uncertainty.
“We are on a crazy roller coaster,” Ms. Cohen said. Her son, Nimrod, is not among the hostages expected to be released in the first phase of the cease-fire. “We are doing everything in our power for him to return,” she said.
The Palestinian prisoners who were released included 36 serving life sentences for attacks on Israelis. They also included more than 300 Gazans detained since the war broke out. Most such detainees have not been formally charged with any crime and were often held incommunicado for extended periods.
Israeli prison officials made them wear sweatshirts that bore a phrase in Arabic: “We shall neither forget nor forgive.”
Israeli prison officers had also tied menacing messages around some of the prisoners’ wrists.
“The eternal nation will not forget,” read one message, an Arabic adaptation of a well-known Hebrew phrase. “I pursue my enemies and seize them.”
Without naming parties, the International Committee of the Red Cross raised objections about how the hostage and detainee releases were being carried out. The Red Cross has been acting as a neutral intermediary in the cease-fire transfers.
“Despite repeatedly calling for all transfers to be carried out in a dignified and private manner, more must be done by all sides, including the mediators, to improve future transfers,” it said in a statement.
When 10 of the freed Palestinian prisoners arrived in the city of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, they were handed jackets to cover the sweatshirts. Hassan Oweis, 47, a former member of the Palestinian security services, was one of those prisoners. His family had not seen him outside of prison since he was arrested in 2002, during an Israeli raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.
Mr. Oweis was later convicted of several counts of terrorism, including abetting two gunmen who killed two Israeli civilians and wounded scores in northern Israel in November 2001, according to Israeli court records. Mr. Oweis had denied the accusations, according to the records.
To celebrate his freedom, a crowd of well-wishers lifted Mr. Oweis onto their shoulders. “The first time we see him without bars,” said his son Shadi, 25, who was a toddler when Mr. Oweis was arrested. “The most precious moment,” said Mr. Oweis’s mother, Mariam.
But the mood also felt “painful and uneasy,” said Ms. Oweis, 75.
The Oweis family has been displaced from their home in Jenin, where the Israeli military has been mounting an extensive operation against what it says are militants planning attacks on Israelis. Thousands of Jenin residents have been forced from their homes as Israeli soldiers have battled Palestinian gunmen and demolished scores of buildings.
A few days ago, the cease-fire seemed at risk of crumbling when Hamas threatened to delay the hostage release. It accused Israel of violating the truce agreement, including by not sending sufficient tents and other aid into Gaza.
Israel threatened to resume the war if Hamas did not relent. Mr. Trump escalated the threat, warning that all of remaining hostages had to be freed by noon on Saturday or “all hell is going to break out.”
By Friday, Israel and Hamas signaled that the dispute had been resolved for now.
And Mr. Trump on Saturday appeared to distance himself from his ultimatum, posting on social media that, “Israel will now have to decide” how to handle the deadline. “The United States will back the decision they make!” he wrote.
Israeli leaders had not decisively embraced Mr. Trump’s ultimatum and have indicated that they are willing to continue following the terms of the first phase of the cease-fire.
Israel and Hamas were supposed to start negotiations on the second part of the deal last week. But a lull in talks has prompted serious worries about the future of the multistage deal.
Reaching the second phase would likely require painful concessions by one side or both. Israel has vowed not to end the war until the end of Hamas’s rule in Gaza. For Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, there could also be a political price: His right-wing governing coalition could shatter if he breaks that vow.
For its part, Hamas has mostly refused to give up control of Gaza and to send its leaders into exile. The group also worries that handing over the hostages, its most valuable bargaining chips, would remove its best insurance against a renewed Israeli invasion.
To sustain the cease-fire, either Israel or Hamas would most likely have to blink. For now, neither has done so, leaving the future of the truce up in the air.
Patrick Kingsley, Lara Jakes and Michael Levenson contributed reporting.
