Militant group Hamas on Saturday released three hostages in Gaza while Israel freed 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in return, reported Reuters.

The exchange, brokered by mediators, helped sustain a fragile ceasefire.

The three hostages released on Saturday – Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel Chen and Sasha Troufanov – were shown on a stage in Khan Younis, flanked by armed Hamas militants, as seen in live footage. They were later escorted back into Israel by Israeli forces.

Buses carrying freed Palestinian prisoners left Israel’s Ofer jail in the West Bank, with the first arriving in Ramallah to a crowd waving Palestinian flags.

“We didn’t expect to be freed, but God is great, God set us free,” said Musa Nawarwa, 70, from Bethlehem, who was serving two life sentences for the killings of Israeli soldiers in the West Bank.

Buses carrying freed Palestinian prisoners later arrived at the European Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Some of the released Palestinians had long prison sentences for attacks during the second Palestinian uprising, including suicide bombings and killings of Israeli soldiers.

Some Israeli hostages freed since January 19 described being deprived of food, held in tunnels for months and subjected to physical and psychological abuse.

The ceasefire’s second phase will see negotiations for the return of the remaining living hostages and the complete withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza, paving the way for reconstruction of destroyed property.

United States President Donald Trump noted the release of the three hostages, including an American. “They seem to be in good shape!” he said.

Trump had said on Monday that he would propose to cancel the truce between Israel and Hamas if all hostages were not returned by Saturday.

“As far as I am concerned, if all of the hostages are not returned by Saturday [February 15] 12 o’clock – I think it’s an appropriate time – I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

On February 11, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would resume its military offensive in Gaza if hostages were not released by midday on Saturday.

Israel’s military offensive against Gaza began on October 7, 2023, after Hamas launched an incursion into southern Israel, killing 1,200 persons and taking more than 200 hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza since then, killing more than 47,700 persons, including over 17,400 children. About 400 Israeli soldiers have died in the conflict.

Some of the hostages were released in November 2023 as part of a brief ceasefire deal and some were killed as a result of the war.

The agreement also allows hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to their neighbourhoods in Gaza. About 1.9 million people in Gaza have been displaced since October 2023, according to the United Nations’ Palestine refugee agency.

According to the United Nations, 92% of the housing units in Gaza have either been destroyed or damaged in the Israeli attacks.