Trump issued a statement on Saturday warning of the noon deadline he set for the release of all hostages being held in Gaza and said he will leave it up to Israel to decide whether they will violate the ceasefire and continue fighting. The stunt came as the militant group released three Israeli hostages – Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Sasha Troufanov – after 498 days in captivity. The men appeared in better health than three hostages freed last weekend, who were described as emaciated. Hamas delivered a cruel message to a hostage’s mother during today’s prisoner exchange, handing over an hourglass bearing her son’s image with the warning “time is running out”. During the first six-week phase of the ceasefire, a total of 33 hostages should be freed in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israel.
US’s Rubio arrives in Saudi Arabia for Ukraine talks with Russia
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Israel releases Palestinian prisoners, after Hamas frees Israeli hostages in Gaza
The president of Argentina has acknowledged the release of Argentinian-Israeli Iair Horn, who was released by Hamas today. The three hostages freed from captivity are U.S. national Sagui Dekel Chen, Iair Horn and Sasha Troufanov, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) went to nearly all federal employees — some 2.3 million people across the U.S. Mr Fogel left Russia with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in a move officials said could help bring about talks to end the Ukraine war.
Netanyahu to convene security cabinet after release of 3 hostages
Hamas militants released three more Israeli hostages on Saturday as part of the ceasefire agreement. Even as a federal judge has cleared the way for the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program to go forward, there remains much confusion over who agreed to exactly what — and what they’ll get in return. Rana, accused of aiding the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack that killed 166 people, is currently held in a high-security US prison.
Watch: Celebrations in Israel as three more hostages freed
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that a Russian citizen imprisoned in the US would be returned to Russia in the coming days as part of the exchange. The war was triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, when gunmen killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. President Trump said the ceasefire should be scrapped if Hamas did not release all the hostages held in Gaza by midday on Saturday. His family had tried to push former President Joe Biden to secure his release, and were left disappointed when he was left out of prisoner exchanges in 2022 and 2024. Trump said earlier that the prisoner deal with Russia was “very fair, very reasonable”, and that “somebody else is being released tomorrow that you will know of”.
Why Saudi Arabia is the venue of choice for Trump talks on Ukraine
Local rights group The Palestinian Prisoners Club last week accused Israel of “systematic abuse” after seven of the prisoners freed during the previous swap were hospitalised after their release. After intense efforts by Egyptian and Qatari mediators to keep the agreement on track, Hamas said it would go ahead with the planned release of hostages. The deal nearly fell apart at the beginning of the week after the militant group threatened to delay the release of hostages, accusing Israel of violating terms of the truce.
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- His grandmother Irena Tati was released during the brief ceasefire in November 2023, along with Troufanov’s mother and girlfriend.
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- Goggin is among roughly 75,000 federal employees who agreed to resign, according to OPM.
- The families of the hostages are currently waiting at the hospital and are being updated by IDF officials with the latest available information.
- He also appeared to accuse the US of breaking a confidentiality agreement about the exchange.
- Ben Ami’s wife, Raz, was also kidnapped, but she was released as part of a separate exchange deal in November 2023.
- Even as a federal judge has cleared the way for the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program to go forward, there remains much confusion over who agreed to exactly what — and what they’ll get in return.
The following week, in an effort to be transparent, Goggin emailed her supervisor about her decision. This isn’t the first time Mr Trump has dismissed a reporter over their accent. Earlier this month, during a media interaction at the White House with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, he had a similar response to Afghan journalist Nazira Karimi. A clip of the awkward interaction has since gone viral on social media. Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said the exchange was “a product of one of the channels, through which these contacts are carried out”.
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“Three returning hostages are currently being accompanied by IDF special forces and ISA forces on their return to Israeli territory, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment,” the joint statement said. “The commanders and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces salute and embrace the returning hostages as they make their way home to the State of Israel. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit asks everyone to respect the privacy of the returning hostages and their families.” The returning hostages crossed the border Saturday into Israeli territory and made their way to an initial reception point in southern Israel, where they were reunited with their families.
Marc Fogel: Trump welcomes home US teacher jailed in Russia
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that while such agreements build trust between countries, they were unlikely to be a “turning point” in a relationship. Trump’s Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, told US network NewsNation that while the deal to get Mr Fogel released was a “good sign”, he cautioned against “linking” it to the war in Ukraine. “Actually, I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war and millions of people can stop being killed.” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel late Saturday ahead of expected talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the ceasefire and Trump’s plan for Gaza. The prisoners tore them off and burned them when they arrived in Khan Younis, central Gaza, according to an AFP correspondent.
Stories of the hostages taken by Hamas from Israel
Some were seen being whisked away by ambulances to a local hospital. President Trump had set a deadline for Hamas to release all hostages. By the time Goggin received the “Fork in the Road” offer, her household was already in upheaval. The Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid was directly impacting her husband’s position with a nongovernmental organization. Goggin is among roughly 75,000 federal employees who agreed to resign, according to OPM. But she is also one of an unknown number of people who have since learned they can’t take the deal, because their positions are exempt.
- Of the 369 Palestinians freed on Saturday, 333 had been arrested in the Gaza Strip and held in Israeli prisons following the Hamas-led terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
- Trump issued a statement on Saturday warning of the noon deadline he set for the release of all hostages being held in Gaza and said he will leave it up to Israel to decide whether they will violate the ceasefire and continue fighting.
- Banks often advertise free or low-cost transfers, but add a hidden markup to the exchange rate.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that while such agreements build trust between countries, they were unlikely to be a “turning point” in a relationship.
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- Subsequently, the Biden administration secured the release of three more Americans last year as part of the biggest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War.
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- Benjamin Netanyahu has said he “greatly appreciates” support from Donald Trump, adding his “firm stance” helped to secure today’s release of three Israeli hostages.
Ben Ami and Sharabi were kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7. Ben Ami’s wife, Raz, was also kidnapped, but she was released as part of a separate exchange deal in November 2023. Shortly after the hostage handover in Gaza, a bus carrying Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived in the West Bank, as per the ceasefire agreement, Reuters reported.
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Get an automated currency feed through the Xe Currency Data API. Footage of the “emotional meeting” of Israeli hostage Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov reuniting with his grandmother has been released by the office of Benjamin Netanyahu. “The combination of the IDF’s reinforcement around the Gaza Strip and President Trump’s firm stance led to the release of three of our hostages today—despite Hamas’s previous refusal to free them.”
Three Israeli hostages are freed by Hamas as Israel releases 369 Palestinian prisoners in exchange. The sixth swap of the ceasefire comes after there were fears the deal could collapse this week. Of the 369 Palestinians freed on Saturday, 333 had been arrested in the Gaza Strip and held in Israeli prisons following the Hamas-led terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Those 333 will be returned to Gaza following their release on Saturday. Of the other 36, some will be released in the West Bank and others will be released in Gaza, Israeli officials said.
During the talks, Hamas and Israel will need to agree on a mechanism to release the remaining prisoners in Gaza, negotiate Israel’s full withdrawal, and permanently end the war. Hamas has now released 21 of the 33 prisoners it agreed to free during the first phase of the ceasefire. Ohad Ben Ami, 56, Eli Sharabi, 52, and Or Levy, 34, were all taken hostage during Hamas’ brutal attack on Oct. 7, 2023 that killed 1,200 people in Israel and sparked the war in Gaza. More than 47,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, according to the local Hamas-run ministry of health.
Banks often advertise free or low-cost transfers, but add a hidden markup to the exchange rate. Wise gives you the real, mid-market, exchange rate, so you can make huge savings on your international money transfers. Whether you need to make cross-border payments or FX risk management solutions, we’ve got you covered.
- “I’ve returned to my family and I’ve returned anew, born again,” one prisoner was quoted by AFP as saying.
- President Trump had set a deadline for Hamas to release all hostages.
- “We have prepared for their return and, together with the families, we will assist in their rehabilitation after the long and torturous days in captivity,” read a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office.
- “My husband and I talked about it, and if this offer was legitimate, it seemed like, wow… I could potentially be making double salary for six months, which would give him some time to regroup and find a job he cares about.”
- His family had tried to push former President Joe Biden to secure his release, and were left disappointed when he was left out of prisoner exchanges in 2022 and 2024.
- Since the ceasefire began on 19 January, 16 Israeli and five Thai hostages have been released in exchange for 766 prisoners.
- Mr Fogel left Russia with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in a move officials said could help bring about talks to end the Ukraine war.
There are also three other Israeli hostages – one of whom is dead – who have been held in Gaza for a decade or more. Following on from his recent synthesizer talks Maarten has developed a four lecture series that builds on his talks and takes certain aspects a little further, this course is aimed at participants with no previous knowledge of synthesizers. The lectures will be delivered at the end of June and beginning of July and are between 8 and 9pm, to allow those of us who are working to get home and recover a little. Trump announced earlier on Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would travel to Ukraine later this week. Waltz said Mr Fogel’s release was a “sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine”.
