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

Hamas printed a not-so-subtle dig at US President Donald Trump on the stage in Khan Yunis where Hamas will release three hostages on Saturday. 

Among the banners printed in English, Hebrew, and Arabic is the phrase “no migration except to Jerusalem” - a likely reference to Trump’s relocation plans. 

Trump previously announced the controversial plan to resettle Gazans in Jordan and Egypt - a plan strongly rejected by the Arab world.

The other banner slogans included “We Crossed Over Swiftly” - a reference to Hamas’s October 7 invasion in 2023. The terror group broke an existing ceasefire and stormed southern Israel, where they massacred some 1200 people and abducted over 250 more. 

The three Israeli hostages, Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel Chen, and Alexander Sasha Troufanov will be brought to Khan Yunis and given to the Red Cross via a vehicle that was seized in Israel on October 7 and brought to Gaza, Hamas said on Saturday.

Hamas also said that they will be "gifting" Sagui Dekel Chen with a gold coin in honor of his daughter that was born while he was still in captivity.

The IDF is in preparation to receive hostages Sagui Dekel Chen, Alexander Sasha Troufanov, and Iair Horn, who are expected to be released at around 9 a.m. in the sixth wave of the hostage deal's first phase, an Israeli official said on Saturday.

The three hostages are expected to be released and delivered to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis, who will then be transferred to the IDF, who will take them to the Re'im base to reunite with their families.

They will then be transferred to the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center and the Sheba Medical Center for treatment.

This is a developing story.

Hamas is "considering" releasing hostage Maxim Herkin, 36, from captivity when the second stage of the ceasefire begins, Russian state media TASS reported on Friday. 

"As for Maxim Herkin, Russian friends did indeed request his release," said senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk. "We treated Russia’s request with respect, but at this moment, we cannot disclose information about the hostages included in the second phase of the deal." 

Abu Marzouk emphasized that senior Hamas officials "will certainly take Russia’s request into account once negotiations are concluded and the implementation of the second phase begins."

US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would take a hard stance on Saturday on Gaza, the Palestinian enclave for which he has proposed a US takeover and where a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Hamas terrorists is in place.

Hamas previously claimed that the group would not release any hostages on Saturday, in violation of the Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal agreement, alleging that Israel had violated the agreement. 

Trump's warning to Hamas

In response to Hamas's threat, Trump warned that if hostages were not released by 12 p.m. on Saturday or he would  "let all hell break loose."

"If all the Gaza hostages aren't returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel the ceasefire. Let all hell break loose; Israel can override it," he said, noting that it was Israel's decision.

Outgoing United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) force commander Lt.-Gen. Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz was injured on Friday after a convoy taking peacekeepers to Beirut airport was "violently attacked," UNIFIL said.

Hezbollah supporters attacked the convoy of Lázaro as it tried to make its way to Rafik Hariri International Airport.

Protestors claimed their goal was to secure the return of citizens stranded in Iran and block external influences on the Lebanese government, Hezbollah-owned Al Manar reported.

UNIFIL demanded a full and immediate investigation by Lebanese authorities and for all perpetrators to be brought to justice, it added in a statement.

At least one UNIFIL officer was injured in the incident after Hezbollah operatives attacked the vehicle marked with the UN logo, beating the people inside.

Sagui Dekel Chen, Alexander Sasha Troufanov and Iair Horn are the hostages set to be released by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad on Saturday, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed on Friday. 

The PMO said that Israel had received the list but claimed it had not yet approved it, despite having said just before that the list was accepted.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) said it would release one hostage on Saturday as part of the hostage-ceasefire deal, the group announced on Friday.

Separately, Hamas said the terror groups in Gaza would release on Saturday three hostages, including one with US citizenship, in accordance with the terms of the ceasefire. 

Sunday marked eight years that young Israelis Ziv Abud and Eliya Cohen have been together, but Cohen has been held hostage in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

Cohen is one of the 33 hostages slated to be released as part of the first phase of the hostage-ceasefire deal. Of those 33, 17 have yet to be released.

“I’m really, really tired from the fight, and I’m very sad because now I know the conditions that Eliya had—and still has—in the tunnels,” Abud said during a virtual MediaCentral discussion on Monday. “It breaks my heart to know that he was chained, all that happened to him in the tunnels, from people that were with him in the tunnels.”

From Abud’s understanding, about a week before Eli Sharabi and Or Levy were released from captivity, they were together with Cohen, and Alon Ohel was also part of this group of hostages.