BEIRUT, FEBRUARY 16
Israel and Hamas completed their sixth exchange of hostages and prisoners on Saturday after their ceasefire survived its latest crisis.
The Palestinian militant group was going to delay the exchange because Israel wasn't letting the agreed-upon humanitarian aid into the devastated Gaza Strip. However, the exchange got back on track after Hamas said mediators Egypt and Qatar pledged to "remove all hurdles" to ensure Israel would allow more tents, medical supplies and other essentials.
Israel released more than 369 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday after Hamas freed three hostages who have been held by Hamas since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war in Gaza. They are Argentinian-Israeli Iair Horn, 46; American-Israeli Sagui Dekel Chen, 36; and Russian-Israeli Alexander Troufanov, 29.
Just over two weeks remain in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, which began on Jan. 19. The war could resume in early March if no agreement is reached on the more complicated second phase, which calls for the return of all remaining hostages and an indefinite extension of the truce.
US secretary of state arrives in Israel as part of Mideast tour
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has landed in Israel to begin a Mideast tour as the region responds to President Donald Trump's proposal to expel Gaza's Palestinian population to other countries and redevelop the territory under U.S. ownership. The Palestinians and Arab states have rejected it.
Rubio is expected to meet Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met Trump at the White House earlier this month.
Rubio's arrival in Tel Aviv came hours after Israel and Hamas completed a sixth exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners under their fragile ceasefire. Serious negotiations on the ceasefire's more difficult second phase were to begin early this month.
Release of Israeli-Argentinian hostage is welcomed by the South American country's president
President Javier Milei of Argentina acknowledged the role his staunch ally U.S. President Donald Trump played in the ceasefire deal that led to the release of an Argenitnian-Israeli hostage on Saturday, according to a government statement.
Javier Milei said Iair Horn's wife was pregnant and gave birth to their youngest daughter while he was in captivity.
"Today, he will be able to meet her for the first time and reunite with the rest of his family," Milei said.
He said Argentina's government repeated its call for Hamas to release all the remaining hostages, including Iair's brother, Eitan Horn.
Milei said his country "hopes for a swift resolution to the conflict with the absolute defeat of the terrorist group responsible for the worst attack against the Jewish community since the Holocaust."
