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Shortly afterward, buses carrying freed Palestinian prisoners and detainees departed Israel’s Ofer jail in the occupied West Bank. The first bus arrived in Ramallah to a cheering crowd, some waving Palestinian flags.
A crowd stands around Red Cross vehicles during the handover ceremony of three Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, in Khan Yunis. Source: AAP / Haitham Imad/EPA
Buses carrying some of the hundreds of Palestinian freed prisoners and detainees, some flashing victory signs as they hung from the windows, arrived later at the European Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Some freed Palestinians are returning to an enclave they have not seen for years, before it was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes and shelling in 15 months of war. But most were rounded up after the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel in 2023.
Wadah Bizreh, a Palestinian from Nablus, is received by relatives after his release from Israel in the occupied West Bank. Source: AAP / Alaa Badarneh/EPA
‘Now we can breathe a little’
The swap of the three Israelis for the 369 Palestinians allayed growing alarm that the ceasefire agreement could unravel before the end of the 42-day first stage of the truce pact in effect since 19 January.
Troufanov was abducted with his mother, grandmother and girlfriend — all of whom were released during a brief November 2023 pause in hostilities. His father was killed in the attack on Nir Oz, one of the worst-hit communities, where one in four people either died or were taken hostage.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants escort Russian-Israeli hostage Sasha (Alexander) Troufanov before handing him over to the Red Cross team, in Khan Younis. Source: AAP / Haitham Imad/EPA
On 7 October, Dekel Chen, 36, left his pregnant wife and two little daughters in the family safe room to go out and fight gunmen rampaging through the kibbutz.
He embraced his tearful wife Avital tightly and said “perfect” with a big smile when she told him the name of their baby daughter, who he has not yet seen, in a video released by the military.
