Hamas released three hostages, including American citizen Sagui Dekel Chen, as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel. The release came after President Trump’s ultimatum, which warned that the deal would collapse if all remaining hostages were not released by noon on Saturday.
The move ends a standoff that threatened to disrupt the fragile ceasefire agreement. Another 14 hostages are set to be released in the next two weeks. Trump claimed his pressure forced Hamas to back down from its threat not to release the three hostages.
Hamas said it tried to “violate the deal and create a false crisis” but backed down due to Trump’s statement. The Israeli prime minister’s office gave credit for the release to the US president, saying Hamas was unable to proceed without his clear statement.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Netanyahu on Sunday to discuss the next phase of the ceasefire agreement, while White House envoy Steve Witkoff arrives in Israel for talks about Gaza.
Source: https://www.axios.com/2025/02/15/hamas-hostage-release-american-sagui-dekel-chen