Freed hostages Dekel-Chen, Troufanov and Horn back in Israel after 498 days in captivity
Three men paraded on stage by gunmen in southern Gaza before being handed over to Red Cross; Dekel-Chen ecstatic to hear about 3rd daughter, born two months after his abduction; Troufanov told father murdered Oct. 7
By Emanuel Fabian – TimesofIsreal.com
Freed hostages Sagui Dekel-Chen, Sasha Troufanov and Iair Horn crossed back into Israel on Saturday morning after being paraded on a stage in southern Gaza in a propaganda-filled release ceremony by the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups that held them captive for 498 days.
Troufanov, who had been held by Islamic Jihad, was the first to emerge from a vehicle and be led onto the stage. Dekel-Chen and Horn, who had been held by Hamas, were then brought up, with both of them clad in black and cream sweatsuits, a shift from the previous hostage release where the men were dressed as prisoners or soldiers.
Dekel-Chen and Horn both looked thin and pale, and Horn appeared to be limping. But the three appeared to be in a better physical condition than the three severely emaciated hostages who were released last week in images that shocked Israel and sparked an outpouring of anger.
Former Israeli hostage negotiator says Israel missed two windows for deal
Prime Minister’s Office charges that Oren Setter is ‘lying’ after he says that opportunities were missed in March and July 2024, and that government knew captives were in bad shape
By Lazar Berman
Brig. Gen. (res.) Oren Setter, former deputy to the IDF’s point man in the negotiations for a hostage-ceasefire deal, speaks to Channel 12 about his time on the negotiating team, in an interview aired on February 15, 2025. (Screenshot, Channel 12)
A former Israeli negotiator said on Saturday that Israel missed two opportunities last year to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and hasten hostage releases, prompting a swift rebuttal from the premier’s office.
“In my view, we missed two opportunities to sign an agreement… in March and July” last year, said Brig. Gen. (res.) Oren Setter, who resigned from the Israeli negotiating team in October, after serving as the deputy to the IDF’s point man in the negotiations for a deal, Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon.
“We did not do everything we could to bring them back as quickly as possible,” Setter asserted in remarks aired by Channel 12 on Saturday, countering frequent claims to the contrary from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.