US State Sec. Rubio lands in Tel Aviv as countries seek return of six add'l living hostages

Despite enduring months of starvation, malnutrition, isolation, and severe torture, returning hostages often appear outwardly healthy and happy.

This deceptive appearance is driven by physiological processes that accelerate heart rate, stimulate the body, and create a temporary sense of euphoria before their release.

Hamas confirmed to Arab media on Saturday that they will not be the ones running the Gaza Strip during the implementation of the next phase of the ceasefire-hostage deal.

Ceasefire agreement

Hamas will be ready to negotiate the second phase of the hostage-ceasefire agreement from Monday, senior official Osama Hamdan told Qatar-based Al Araby TV on Thursday.

Additionally, Walla reported that Hamdan emphasized Hamas' commitment to the agreement and quoted him stating, "If Israel fulfills its obligations, then we will continue to release the hostages as agreed on Saturday or in the remaining days to come."

Part of the Phase Two deal is Hamas backing down from governing the Gaza Strip.

Hamas, PIJ terrorists prepare a propaganda ceremony in Khan Yunis ahead of the hostage release, February 15, 2025. (credit: Screenshot/Telegram, SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)

Ceasefire on a rocky path

Hamas announced on its Telegram channel on Monday that they were going to cancel Saturday's hostage release due to Israel's violation of the ceasefire agreement.

Hamas said Israel had violated the ceasefire agreement by delaying the return of displaced peoples to the north and blocking supplies from entering the Gaza Strip.

"During the past three weeks, the resistance leadership has monitored the enemy’s violations and failure to abide by the terms of the agreement," Hamas said.

The violations include "delaying the return of displaced people to the northern Gaza Strip, targeting them with shelling and gunfire in various areas of the Gaza Strip, and not allowing relief supplies of all kinds to enter as agreed upon, while the resistance has implemented all its obligations."

Hamas stated that postponing the next release of hostages would serve as a “warning message” intended to pressure Israel to strictly adhere to the ceasefire agreement.

“Hamas intends for this announcement to be made a full five days before the date of handing over the prisoners, but it is to give the mediators sufficient opportunity to put pressure on the occupation to carry out its obligations and to keep the door open to carrying out the exchange on time if the occupation commits to what it is.” 

Yuval Barnea contributed to this article.

Israel and the United States are attempting to bring forward the release of six hostages from phase one of the Gaza hostage deal to as early as "in the coming days, even this week," a diplomatic source told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday evening.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding security consultations on Saturday evening on the next steps in the ceasefire and hostage release agreement.

This is a developing story.

"Thank you to everyone who joined the fight for my release. I wish for the return of all the remaining hostages – no one should be left behind," former hostage Alexander Sasha Troufanov wrote in a message on Saturday from the helicopter after his release from captivity. 

Moscow officials took credit for the release of Russian-Israeli hostage Alexander Sasha Troufanov, 29, in various statements on Saturday without mentioning Israeli efforts to free him.

While all statements from the Kremlin expressed relief that Troufanov is alive and appeared well, they notably chose to thank Hamas and other Arab leadership in their statements.

“Moscow welcomes the release of Alexander Troufanov in Palestine and expresses gratitude to the Hamas leadership for their decision,” Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov told Russian reporters on Saturday, as reported by TASS.

The Kremlin's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova thanked Russia's partners in the Middle East, including Hamas leadership, and credited Moscow for the release of Russian nationals. 

"We are grateful to the Palestinian side, as well as our Qatari and Egyptian partners, for their assistance in the successful resolution of this matter," she wrote in a Saturday statement on the Foreign Ministry's Telegram. "Thanks to the efforts of Russian diplomats, three Russian citizens—Roni Krivoy, Yelena Troufanova, and Irina Tatti—were also released in November 2023 during the so-called humanitarian pause," Zakharova wrote.

The United States Attorney General and Director of National Security at the CIA, Tulsi Gabbard, spoke with Robi Chen, the father of the kidnapped soldier, Itay Chen, on Saturday, Israeli media reports.

"We will continue to do everything possible to end the human tragedy of the hostages in Gaza," Gabbard said.

While on route to the hospital in an IDF helicopter on Saturday, Sagui Dekel Chen wrote on a whiteboard an image of Israel with a heart that equaled to the number 73 and a message that read, "Bring them back to us." 

Iair Horn sent a message on Saturday to his brother Eitan Horn, who remains in Hamas captivity while on the helicopter, army radio reported.

"Eitan - you're next!" the message read.

The Israel Air Force fired at suspicious vehicles that were on a non-approved inspection route, heading northward from central Gaza, the IDF announced on Saturday.

The vehicles then turned around and went back south.