Hamas releases 3 Israeli hostages, with over 300 Palestinian prisoners to be freed in return. It is an indication that the fragile ceasefire is set to hold.
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00:00Three Israeli hostages that were held by Hamas since October 2023 have been freed and returned
00:07for over 300 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
00:13The three hostages have since been in Israeli care after they were handed to the Red Cross
00:17in Khan Yunis in Gaza.
00:20It comes as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that began four weeks
00:24ago, a truce that had been jeopardized in recent days.
00:29Earlier this week, Hamas had threatened to delay the release of the hostages as it accused
00:33Israel of violating terms of the ceasefire.
00:36In response, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that the ceasefire agreement would be canceled
00:41if they didn't release all the remaining hostages by midday on Saturday.
00:46Egyptian and Qatari mediators helped avert the standoff and pledged to remove all hurdles
00:52to ensure Israel would allow more tents, medical supplies and other essentials into Gaza.