Truce holds amid hostage-prisoner swap

The fears of a collapse of the fragile cease-fire agreement between Hamas and Israel were averted on Saturday after three Israeli hostages were freed in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners.

The freed Israeli hostages were Alexandre Sasha Troufanov, a 29-year-old Israeli-Russian citizen; Sagui Dekel-Chen, a 36-yearold US-Israeli citizen; and Iair Horn, a 46-year-old Israeli-Argentine citizen.

They were among those kidnapped during the Palestinian militant group Hamas' surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023.

Uncertainty had surrounded the latest exchange after United States President Donald Trump earlier threatened that "all hell is going to break out" if hostages were not released by noon on Saturday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had also warned of a return to "intense fighting" if the hostages were not released.

Hamas had earlier accused Israel of violating the cease-fire deal, prompting the group to announce a delay in the release of hostages indefinitely.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a post on X that he "welcomed the efforts by the parties" to abide by the Gaza cease-fire agreement and urged action for a permanent cease-fire and the release of all hostages.

"Peace is possible in the Middle East — and that starts with tangible, irreversible and permanent progress toward the two-state solution," said Guterres.

In a statement published by the Israeli Prime Minister's office on Saturday, it said it welcomed the hostages "with a big embrace" and blamed Hamas' attempt "to violate the agreement and create a false crisis under false claims".

Israel is working in full coordination with the US to free all hostages, both living and deceased, "as soon as possible", the statement said.

On the same day, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel for his Middle East tour. Rubio is expected to meet Israeli officials to discuss Trump's controversial plan to take over the Gaza Strip.

In his meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar after attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed hopes that the agreement between Israel and Hamas would be effectively implemented, paving the way for a lasting cease-fire.

Wang said the fundamental solution to the Middle East issue lies in implementing the two-state solution, which could ultimately enable peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel, and foster friendly exchanges between the Arab and Jewish peoples, Xinhua News Agency reported.

On Friday, a group of Arab envoys to the UN reiterated their rejection of displacement of Palestinians in Gaza.

"The displacement of Palestinians in Gaza must be unequivocally rejected," said Tareq Al Banai, Kuwait's ambassador to the United Nations, at a news briefing.

At the 38th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated his absolute rejection of any plans to displace the Palestinian people from their homeland, which would keep the region in a cycle of violence, Wafa news agency reported.