BBC Breakfast presenters Naga Munchetty and Ben Thompson stopped their broadcast for breaking news about the latest Israeli hostages being released in Gaza.
On Saturday, Alexander Troufanov, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Iair Horn were finally free after being held hostage for almost 500 days by the organisation Hamas – who invaded Israel on 7 October 2023 where they butchered, raped and murdered over 1,000 innocent civilians and kidnapped hundreds more. A brutal war has been ongoing since – with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to retrieve all the hostages from Gaza and to eliminate Hamas.
In recent weeks, a fragile ceasefire has been held – with Israeli hostages being released in drips and drabs and usually in groups of three while hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, held in Israel, have been released in exchange.
Earlier in the week, President Donald Trump suggested Hamas should release all remaining hostages after horrifying gaunt images of Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy were shown after they were released after being held under torturous conditions. On Saturday, BBC Breakfast broke away from a news report to give the latest update on the newly released hostages.
Alexander Troufanov, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Iair Horn were released on Saturday after almost 500 days of torture (
Image:
BBC)
Naga announced: “19 minutes to eight is the time. We’re just going to bring you some pictures that we’re getting out of Gaza.” Describing the scenes, she continued: “This is Khan Yunis. Now you’re seeing Red Cross vehicles, there’s one approaching the area, and this is the area where, over the past five weeks, no four weeks, actually, but five releases have happened of Israeli hostages, and this is in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees.”
Ben then explained: “Yeah, the images you’re looking at there, this is the area in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip. This is where the hostages will be handed over to the Red Cross… There are three hostages who are due to be released today. We now have the names of them.”
He continued: “After 500 days in captivity, they will be handed over to the Red Cross on the other side of all of this, of course, in Tel Aviv, in hostage square. Families and friends of those hostages are watching closely towards this when those hostages are finally handed over.”
Naga explained further: “We are expecting to see Alexander Troufanov, Iair Horn, and Sagui Dekel-Chen, so they will be shown. Hopefully, what usually happens is they then get up on the stage, and they’re interviewed by members of Hamas. We will see how that pans out.”
The three men have since been reunited with loved ones, however other hostages remain in the hands of Hamas and their sympathisers in Gaza – including Iair’s brother, Eitan. The Israeli hostages were targeted by Hamas.
Among the 369 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for the three men Mazen al-Qadi, who was serving three life sentences for the murder of three Israelis when he attacked a Tel Aviv restaurant in 2002; military commander Ahmed Barghouti who sent suicide bombers into Israel in 2000 that killed 12; and Iyad Abu Shakhdam who murdered dozens with a bus bombing in 2004.
