Hamas announces release of three hostages on Saturday, summit in Riyadh on 20 February

The al-Qassam Brigades say three Israeli prisoners will be released tomorrow. Meanwhile, leaders of several Arab countries will meet on 20 February to discuss the future of Gaza

The al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced that tomorrow, Saturday 15 February, they will release three hostages held in the Gaza Strip for over a year. According to the al-Jazeera satellite network, they are Sagui Dekel-Chen, Yair Horn and Alexander Trufanov. The latter, a Russian and Israeli citizen, had also been indicated as close to release by the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The announcement comes after days of tension between the parties over truce agreements, with mutual accusations that threatened to blow up the fragile ceasefire. Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is facilitating prisoner exchanges between Israel and Hamas, expressed concern about the condition of hostages still being held in Gaza. The humanitarian organisation, through a message posted on X, stressed the need to gain access to the prisoners and reiterated that ‘release and transfer operations must take place in a dignified and safe manner’. The Red Cross recalled last week’s release of Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami, who appeared visibly debilitated.

While the release of the three hostages is awaited, international diplomacy is moving to define the future of the Gaza Strip. On 20 February, Riyadh will host a summit with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Qatar to discuss US President Donald Trump’s plan for the region. According to sources quoted by the Afp agency, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, may also be invited. In addition, an Arab League summit is scheduled for 27 February in Cairo.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem on Sunday. The US politician’s agenda also includes talks with opposition leader Yair Lapid and a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum together with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

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(Photo: © Times of Israel)