Schedule international transfers across 130 currencies in 190+ countries. Get a daily analysis of markets, exchange rates, and news straight in your inbox. The Palestinian group had accused Israel of multiple violations of the truce agreement, prompting US President Donald Trump and the Israeli government to threaten an immediate return to war if it didn’t release the captives on Saturday. The exchange was the sixth since the 42-day ceasefire came into force on 19 January and went ahead despite Hamas threatened to suspend the releases a few days earlier.
- Trump said earlier that the prisoner deal with Russia was “very fair, very reasonable”, and that “somebody else is being released tomorrow that you will know of”.
- Responding to Trump’s message earlier today – which said the US would “back” Israel in “any decision they make” regarding the release of all the remaining hostages – the Israeli prime minister said he values the president’s “full support”.
- Marc Fogel, 63, was pictured in the White House with President Trump on Tuesday – more than three years after he was arrested in Moscow on a drug smuggling charge.
- A total of 70 hostages taken during 7 October attacks are still believed to be in Gaza.
- The three hostages freed from captivity are U.S. national Sagui Dekel Chen, Iair Horn and Sasha Troufanov, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
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- One of the signs held by protesters reads “don’t kill the deal” referring to the fragile ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
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Three Israeli hostages are freed by Hamas as Israel releases 369 Palestinian prisoners in exchange. The sixth swap of the ceasefire comes after there were fears the deal could collapse this week. Of the 369 Palestinians freed on Saturday, 333 had been arrested in the Gaza Strip and held in Israeli prisons following the Hamas-led terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Those 333 will be returned to Gaza following their release on Saturday. Of the other 36, some will be released in the West Bank and others will be released in Gaza, Israeli officials said.
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This story has been updated with the official names of the hostages, per the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel on Saturday and was met by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Now, Goggin worries whether social workers at the VA will be able to abide by that code, given Trump’s executives actions to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and to recognize male and female as the only two sexes. Goggin originally came to the VA through a postgraduate fellowship, where she worked with incarcerated veterans.
Watch: Celebrations in Israel as three more hostages freed
Andrea Hsu is available through encrypted communications on Signal at andreahsu.08. As a White clinician, she says, she relies on trainings and discussions with colleagues to work through issues and figure out how to provide the best care. She says those sessions increase her awareness and understanding of other people’s experiences, including how they may be impacted by racism and other forms of oppression. These days, she works with veterans of all ages, including Vietnam War vets as well as those who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that while such agreements build trust between countries, they were unlikely to be a “turning point” in a relationship. Trump’s Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, told US network NewsNation that while the deal to get Mr Fogel released was a “good sign”, he cautioned against “linking” it to the war in Ukraine. “Actually, I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war and millions of people can stop being killed.” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel late Saturday ahead of expected talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the ceasefire and Trump’s plan for Gaza. The prisoners tore them off and burned them when they arrived in Khan Younis, central Gaza, according to an AFP correspondent.
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He also appeared to accuse the US of breaking a confidentiality agreement about the exchange. “Any agreement on the release of citizens… [is] preceded by very, very scrupulous negotiating work. Of course, such agreements are unlikely to become a turning point,” he said. The history teacher was detained after travelling with what his family said was medically prescribed cannabis.
- By the time Goggin received the “Fork in the Road” offer, her household was already in upheaval.
- Hamas releases three more Israelis, as 369 Palestinians are handed over in the sixth exchange in recent weeks.
- US basketball star Brittney Griner, who was arrested in Russia on a similar charge of cannabis possession in 2022, was freed in an exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout 10 months later.
- IDF officers from the Personnel Directorate and IDF medical officials are accompanying the returning hostages.
- The Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid was directly impacting her husband’s position with a nongovernmental organization.
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Israel’s onslaught on Gaza has killed more than 48,200 people, mostly civilians, and injured 111,700 others, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Negotiations on the second phase of the truce are expected to begin in Qatar next week. The talks were supposed to have started on 3 February but have been delayed by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I’ve returned to my family and I’ve returned anew, born again,” one prisoner was quoted by AFP as saying. Israel however never imposed such a deadline, which is also not part of the ceasefire deal. Benjamin Netanyahu has said he “greatly appreciates” support from Donald Trump, adding his “firm stance” helped to secure today’s release of three Israeli hostages.
How do the releases happen?published at 14:03 Greenwich Mean Time 15 February14:03 GMT 15 February
Nineteen Israeli and five Thai hostages have been released so far during phase one of the current ceasefire deal. Thousands of people have gathered in Tel Aviv calling for the release of the remaining hostages being held in Gaza. The deal had appeared close to collapse earlier this week when Hamas refused to release more hostages, claiming Israel had blocked vital aid deliveries, including tents and shelter materials, leaving thousands exposed to winter conditions. Israel rejected these claims, insisting it had allowed thousands of aid trucks to enter Gaza. Since the ceasefire began on 19 January, 16 Israeli and five Thai hostages have been released in exchange for 766 prisoners. Hundreds of people freed yesterday returned to Gaza and others were released in the occupied West Bank to jubilant crowds.
- Vinnik, who operated cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e, pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in 2024.
- From Israel, Rubio will travel to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
- For its part, Hamas has accused Israel of preventing what the group says are the amount of tents and aid lorries required to be let into Gaza under the terms of the ceasefire.
- Hamas has now released 21 of the 33 prisoners it agreed to free during the first phase of the ceasefire.
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- The president of Argentina has acknowledged the release of Argentinian-Israeli Iair Horn, who was released by Hamas today.
- Israel rejected these claims, insisting it had allowed thousands of aid trucks to enter Gaza.
- As we reported earlier, it was believed Netanyahu had spoken with ministers, the heads of the negotiating team and senior defence officials, over the phone to discuss the release of remaining hostages.
- Hamas has released the names of three hostages due to be freed on Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, after days of fears over the future of the ceasefire.
- She said the family had known his release was a possibility but also that the negotiations were “very tenuous”.
- A Russian national imprisoned in a US jail on money laundering charges will be freed in exchange for the release of American schoolteacher Marc Fogel from prison in Russia, authorities have confirmed.
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- Our eighth AGM last Friday will be remembered, if not for its excitement, then for the magnificent eighth birthday cake baked by our Chair.
- The leader of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in the UK has said they are “really fighting” for the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
- He was filmed hugging and walking arm in arm with his grandmother after being reunited at the Sheba Medical Centre earlier today.
- One of the Palestinian prisoners released by Israel earlier today described the conditions in Israeli detention centres as “more difficult than you can imagine”.
- Or Levy was attending the Nova music festival with his wife, Einav, when militants attacked.
- A clip of the awkward interaction has since gone viral on social media.
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Trump issued a statement on Saturday warning of the noon deadline he set for the release of all hostages being held in Gaza and said he will leave it up to Israel to decide whether they will violate the ceasefire and continue fighting. The stunt came as the militant group released three Israeli hostages – Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Sasha Troufanov – after 498 days in captivity. The men appeared in better health than three hostages freed last weekend, who were described as emaciated. Hamas delivered a cruel message to a hostage’s mother during today’s prisoner exchange, handing over an hourglass bearing her son’s image with the warning “time is running out”. During the first six-week phase of the ceasefire, a total of 33 hostages should be freed in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israel.
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Responding to Trump’s message earlier today – which said the US would “back” Israel in “any decision they make” regarding the release of all the remaining hostages – the Israeli prime minister said he values the president’s “full support”. Today’s exchange brings the total number of hostages freed during the ceasefire to 24, while more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners have been released. However, around 73 hostages remain in Gaza, with half feared dead. Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners on Saturday in exchange for three Israeli captives freed by Hamas, completing the sixth prisoner exchange since the ceasefire came into effect last month. Hamas has released the names of three hostages due to be freed on Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, after days of fears over the future of the ceasefire.
- The stunt came as the militant group released three Israeli hostages – Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Sasha Troufanov – after 498 days in captivity.
- Israel has said it will resume bombing if the three are not released on time.
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- Former US president Joe Biden has said he and his wife, Jill, are “relieved” American-Israeli hostage Sagui Dekel Chen has been reunited with his family.
- Thanks for the great welcome RAF Lossiemouth Friends and Families Day.
- The deal had appeared close to collapse earlier this week when Hamas refused to release more hostages, claiming Israel had blocked vital aid deliveries, including tents and shelter materials, leaving thousands exposed to winter conditions.
- Office of Personnel Management (OPM) went to nearly all federal employees — some 2.3 million people across the U.S.
- Lovely to meet lots of enthusiastic young people sharing an interest in coding, 3D printing & computing science.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that a Russian citizen imprisoned in the US would be returned to Russia in the coming days as part of the exchange. The war was triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, when gunmen killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. President Trump said the ceasefire should be scrapped if Hamas did not release all the hostages held in Gaza by midday on Saturday. His family had tried to push former President Joe Biden to secure his release, and were left disappointed when he was left out of prisoner exchanges in 2022 and 2024. Trump said earlier that the prisoner deal with Russia was “very fair, very reasonable”, and that “somebody else is being released tomorrow that you will know of”.
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Local rights group The Palestinian Prisoners Club last week accused Israel of “systematic abuse” after seven of the prisoners freed during the previous swap were hospitalised after their release. After intense efforts by Egyptian and Qatari mediators to keep the agreement on track, Hamas said it would go ahead with the planned release of hostages. The deal nearly fell apart at the beginning of the week after the militant group threatened to delay the release of hostages, accusing Israel of violating terms of the truce.
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The president of Argentina has acknowledged the release of Argentinian-Israeli Iair Horn, who was released by Hamas today. The three hostages freed from captivity are U.S. national Sagui Dekel Chen, Iair Horn and Sasha Troufanov, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) went to nearly all federal employees — some 2.3 million people across the U.S. Mr Fogel left Russia with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in a move officials said could help bring about talks to end the Ukraine war.
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Anne Fogel told the BBC at the time of feeling “betrayal” when she learnt that her brother was not included in the prisoner exchange – which Biden had lauded as a “feat of diplomacy”. “President Trump secured Marc’s release in just a few weeks, wasting no time in taking decisive action to bring Marc home,” a statement from his lawyers, also sent to CBS, said. A Russian national imprisoned in a US jail on money laundering charges will be freed in exchange for the release of American schoolteacher Marc Fogel from prison in Russia, authorities have confirmed. They add hidden markups to their exchange rates – charging you more without your knowledge.
Ben Ami and Sharabi were kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7. Ben Ami’s wife, Raz, was also kidnapped, but she was released as part of a separate exchange deal in November 2023. USDT to wire Texas Shortly after the hostage handover in Gaza, a bus carrying Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived in the West Bank, as per the ceasefire agreement, Reuters reported.