Buses carrying freed Palestinians welcomed by people in Gaza

A large crowd welcomed buses carrying released Palestinian prisoners in Khan Younis on Saturday, 15 February.

Hamas has released three Israeli hostages Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel Chen and Sasha (Alexander) Troufanov in Gaza on Saturday and Israel began freeing some 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange.

Earlier this week the ceasefire came close to collapse. Hamas had suspended the release of hostages, accusing Israel of breaching ceasefire obligations, including delaying the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza, carrying out strikes across the enclave and hindering the entry of humanitarian aid.

But following threats from US president Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the militant group said on Thursday the scheduled release would go ahead.