Masked Hamas militants on Saturday (Feb 15) handed over three Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza's southern city of Khan Yunis. This was followed by release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners. The swap was part of the hostage-prisoner exchange under the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.

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Israeli-American Sagui Dekel-Chen, Israeli-Russian Sasha Trupanov and Israeli-Argentinian Yair Horn were taken by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers after their release.

They were paraded on stage by Hamas before being transferred to the Red Cross and were told to address the crowd.

The three men were also given goodie bags by the Palestinian militant group to mark the end of their captivity.

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Surrounded by armed fighters, the former hostages addressed the crowd using a microphone, appealing for the completion of further hostage swaps under the ongoing ceasefire agreement.

The hostages are back in Israeli territory, the country's military said in a statement later.

"A short while ago, accompanied by IDF (military) and ISA (internal security) forces, the returning hostages crossed the border into Israeli territory," the military said.

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The IDF had earlier released a statement saying that the returning hostages were being accompanied by the army and were on their way to the Israeli territory.

"The 3 returning hostages are currently being accompanied by IDF and ISA forces on their return to Israeli territory, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment," the post by IDF said on X.

Also read: 'I don't know what's going to happen': Trump expresses uncertainty about hostage release by Hamas
 
"The IDF salutes and embraces the returning hostages as they make their way home to the State of Israel," it added.

Israel begins releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners

Following this, buses full of Palestinian prisoners departed the Israeli-run Ofer Prison.

They were greeted by a cheering crowd in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. According to some reports, as many as 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees would eventually be released on Saturday after Hamas handed over the three Israeli hostages.

Many of the freed Palestinians were immediately transferred to hospitals as they were in poor health, said the reports.

"Our teams are transferring four released (Palestinian) prisoners from the location of reception to the hospital," the Palestine Red Crescent Society said in a statement.

Hamas says committed to freeing Gaza hostages 'according to specified timetable'

The release comes after the Palestinian militant group on Thursday (Feb 13) reaffirmed its commitment to releasing Israeli hostages held in Gaza under a timeline set out in a ceasefire deal for the territory.

"Hamas confirms continuation in implementing the agreement in accordance with what was signed, including the exchange of prisoners (Israeli hostages) according to the specified timetable," the group said in a statement. 

It described the ongoing talks in Cairo, aimed at resolving the stalemate in implementing the ceasefire agreement, as "positive" and productive.

The Palestinian militant group, on Monday (Feb 10), announced that it would postpone the next hostage-prisoner swap, scheduled on Saturday, indefinitely citing a series of violations of the ceasefire deal by Israel.

(With input from agencies)