Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Hamas released three Israeli hostages on Saturday in the sixth swap underpinning a fragile truce that came close to collapse this week. In exchange, Israel has freed 369 Palestinian detainees.
The three hostages are Israeli-American Sagui Dekel-Chen, Israeli-Russian Alexander Troufanov and Israeli-Argentinian Iair Horn, who have been held by Gaza militants since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that started the devastating war.
They were released in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where they were handed over to Red Cross officials amid a strong presence of fighters from Hamas's armed wing, Al Qassam Brigades.
The Israeli military said in a statement that the three were with its forces. They will be taken to Israel for medical treatment and to be reunited with relatives.
Hamas agreed last month to hand over 33 Israeli hostages, including women, children and older men, in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, in the course of a six-week truce during which Israeli forces would pull back from some of their positions in Gaza.
Last week, Hamas threatened to stop releasing hostages after it accused Israel of breaching the terms of the ceasefire by blocking aid from entering Gaza. Israel threatened to resume fighting in Gaza, called up reservists and placed its forces on high alert.
But the Palestinian militant group said on Thursday it would release more hostages, after talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators. The group said the mediators had pledged to “remove all hurdles” to assure Israel would allow more tents, medical supplies and other essentials into Gaza.
"The release of the sixth group confirms that negotiations and the ceasefire agreement are the only way to release hostages," Hamas said in a statement after releasing the three captives. "There is no migration except to Jerusalem, and this is our response to all the calls for displacement launched by Trump and those who support his approach from the forces of colonialism and occupation," it added, referencing recent proposals by US President Donald Trump to relocate Palestinians from Gaza.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is working with the US to get all of its hostages out of Gaza as "quickly as possible".
"Thanks to the concentration of our forces in and around the strip, and thanks to [US] President [Donald] Trump's clear and unequivocal statement, Hamas backed down and the release of the hostages continued," the office said in a statement.
Later in the day, Israel released 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including 36 serving life sentences after deadly attacks. The first released prisoners arrived by bus in a town in the occupied West Bank and were greeted by a cheering crowd.
Hundreds of them reached Khan Younis, where they made victory signs and waved to a jubilant crowd. According to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group, Israel was to release 333 Gazans who were taken into custody during the war.
The group said that 24 of the freed detainees were expected to be sent into exile as part of the truce conditions.
Among the most prominent of the Palestinian detainees is Ahmed Barghouti, 48, a close aide of militant leader and prominent Palestinian political figure Marwan Barghouti. He is among those who will be deported.
Israel sentenced Ahmed Barghouti to life on charges that he sent suicide bombers during the Palestinian uprising, or Second Intifada, in the early 2000s to carry out attacks that killed Israeli civilians. He was arrested alongside Marwan Barghouti in 2002.
In the previous five swaps, 21 hostages and more than 730 Palestinian detainees were released.
Before Saturday, 16 of the 33 Israeli hostages had been returned, along with five Thais who were handed over in an unscheduled release. That left 76 hostages still in Gaza, only about half of whom are thought to be alive.
President Trump said that Israel would have to decide what to do about the noon deadline imposed on the release of all hostages. "The United States will back the decision they make!" Mr Trump said in a post on truth social.
Earlier this week, Mr Trump said "all hell" would break loose and he would call for the deal's cancellation if the hostages were not released on Saturday.
Israel has vowed to restart the war in Gaza, already devastated by 15 months of fighting, if the hostage release does not go ahead as planned.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum in a statement warned against derailing the truce, insisting that the momentum gained in recent weeks must not be lost.
"We cannot let this agreement collapse, we must continue to use this momentum to make a swift and responsible agreement for everyone!" it said.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
All you need to know about Formula E in Saudi Arabia
What The Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix
When Saturday
Where Diriyah in Saudi Arabia
What time Qualifying takes place from 11.50am UAE time through until the Super Pole session, which is due to end at 12.55pm. The race, which will last for 45 minutes, starts at 4.05pm.
Who is competing There are 22 drivers, from 11 teams, on the grid, with each vehicle run solely on electronic power.
RESULTS
Lightweight (female)
Sara El Bakkali bt Anisha Kadka
Bantamweight
Mohammed Adil Al Debi bt Moaz Abdelgawad
Welterweight
Amir Boureslan bt Mahmoud Zanouny
Featherweight
Mohammed Al Katheeri bt Abrorbek Madaminbekov
Super featherweight
Ibrahem Bilal bt Emad Arafa
Middleweight
Ahmed Abdolaziz bt Imad Essassi
Bantamweight (female)
Ilham Bourakkadi bt Milena Martinou
Welterweight
Mohamed Mardi bt Noureddine El Agouti
Middleweight
Nabil Ouach bt Ymad Atrous
Welterweight
Nouredine Samir bt Marlon Ribeiro
Super welterweight
Brad Stanton bt Mohamed El Boukhari
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
Al Jazira's foreign quartet for 2017/18
Romarinho, Brazil
Lassana Diarra, France
Sardor Rashidov, Uzbekistan
Mbark Boussoufa, Morocco
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,470,000 (est)
Engine 6.9-litre twin-turbo W12
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 626bhp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,350rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.0L / 100km
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sri Lanka's T20I squad
Thisara Perera (captain), Dilshan Munaweera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ashan Priyanjan, Mahela Udawatte, Dasun Shanaka, Sachith Pathirana, Vikum Sanjaya, Lahiru Gamage, Seekkuge Prasanna, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay and Chathuranga de Silva.
