Israel confirms receiving names of three captives set for release in Gaza
Israel has received from mediators Egypt and Qatar the names of the three captives to be released tomorrow in Gaza, the Israeli prime minister’s office confirms.
It said the list is acceptable for Israel and the families have approved the release of the names.
What you need to know on three Israeli captives set to be freed in Gaza
- Yair Horn, 46, was taken by fighters from his home in Israel’s Nir Oz settlement on October 7, 2023. His family emigrated from Argentina to Israel many years ago, according to Israeli media, which added that he worked in construction, and was heavily involved in the community of Nir Oz, organising parties and activities.
- Alexander Trufanov, 29, a Russian Israeli national, was abducted with his girlfriend, Sapir Cohen, from their home in Nir Oz. The Israeli media said his father was killed in the October 7, 2023 attack, and his captive mother and grandmother were freed as part of the November 2023 deal. The family emigrated from Russia in the late 1990s, reports added.
- Sagui Dekel-Chen, who was also taken from Nir Oz, is a US Israeli citizen. The 36-year-old is a father of three, including one who was born during his captivity, and is not aware that his wife and children survived the October 2023 attack, media reports say, adding that he refurbished old buses into mobile classrooms for underserved children.
Israel expected to name Palestinian prisoners to be released tomorrow
There is very little information in terms of how the release of captives is going to proceed.
The expectation is that three Israeli captives will be released on Saturday, and that came after the breakthrough in the ceasefire talks and the implementation of the humanitarian protocol, as Hamas refers to it, were realised, given the efforts of the mediators.
In the past few days, there was a lot of concern that the ceasefire was not going to hold because Israel was not allowing enough humanitarian assistance, fuel, mobile homes or tents into the Strip.
Israel is now expected to disclose the list of Palestinian detainees, prisoners, and disappeared people who will be released.
369 Palestinian prisoners expected to be released tomorrow
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office (ASRA) says 36 prisoners with life sentences and 333 prisoners from the Gaza Strip who were detained without any charges after October 7 will be released by Israeli authorities tomorrow.
The statement comes after Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad released the names of three Israeli captives due to be released in the exchange.
