Hamas released three more Israeli hostages Saturday — including an American father of three — preserving the fragile cease-fire agreement that nearly imploded after the terrorists threatened to delay the release of any additional captives.

Hamas and affiliated terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad turned over a trio of men kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023 — Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36; Alexander Troufanov, 29; and Yair Horn, 46 — to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has been facilitating the release of the hostages in Gaza.

Dekel-Chen, Troufanov and Horn were paraded on stage in a propaganda ceremony in Khan Younis before each hostage spoke to the crowd of Hamas soldiers and citizens.

The hostages also received cryptic “gifts” from their captors, including an hourglass for Horn that featured Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker and his mother Einav and read “Time is running out.” Dekel-Chen received a gold coin, which reportedly symbolized his daughter’s birth during his captivity in Gaza.

Hours after the hostages were brought back to the Jewish state for tearful reunions with family members, Israel broadcast network Channel 12 reported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was looking to speed up the release of additional living hostages who were slated to be freed during the first stage of the multi-phase cease-fire deal,  the Times of Israel reported.

The Israeli leader is looking to have six captives released in the coming week, rather than spread out over two weeks as originally scheduled, the outlet reported.

Netanyahu additionally wants to extend the truce’s first stage beyond the initial 42-day period and secure the release of more living hostages, including several of whom Israel has learned are facing dire health conditions.

The country’s negotiators, however, warned that unless Israel begins discussions in earnest with Hamas to hammer out plans for the second stage of the cease-fire deal, talks that were  supposed to beginnearly two weeks ago, it risks upending additional hostages’ release during the current stage.

The cease-fire agreement already appeared to be on the verge of collapsing last week, after Hamas threatened to postpone indefinitely any additional hostage releases.

The terror group accused Israel of violating various agreements in the truce deal, including allowing the delivery of tents and other aid for displaced Palestinians into the enclave.

Netanyahu, with President Trump’s backing, thundered on Tuesday that if Hamas did not release “our hostages” by noon Saturday, fighting would swiftly resume in the war-ravaged territory.

Hamas caved amid the saber rattling and agreed Thursday to hand over three hostages as previously agreed, claiming its delegation had spoken with Egyptian and Qatari officials about ensuring more aid was delivered.

It said the mediators promised to “remove all hurdles.”

The three hostages freed were each kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Or during Hamas’ bloody cross-border attack on Oct. 7, where an estimated 80 of the nearly 400 residents were taken captive and dragged to Gaza.

Dekel-Chen, one of the last American-Israeli hostages believed still alive, was outside fixing a bus when he spotted the terrorists charging toward the kibbutz that morning.

He locked his wife, Avital, and their two daughters in their home’s safe room, before returning to help defend the kibbutz. Avital, seven months pregnant at the time, gave birth to their third daughter, Shachar Mazal, in December 2023.

The former hostage was “all smiles” when he learned that his daughter — now a  year old – was born, according to TOI.

“I’m great, I’m great, I have a daughter,” he told Channel 12 when asked about his medical condition.
“I can breathe again,” Avital said, per the broadcast network.

Argentinian-Israeli Horn was kidnapped by the terror group along with his brother, Eitan, who is still held captive in Gaza.

Horn’s relatives told TOI after his release that he looks like “half” of himself due to his weight loss during his extended captivity.

Troufanov, a Russian-Israeli, was taken hostage alongside his mother, Yelena; his grandmother, Irena Tati, and his girlfriend, Sapir Cohen. His father, Vitaly, was among those massacred in the Oct. 7 attack.

The women were released in November 2023 during a prior truce in the fighting.

Following his release, Troufanov embraced his mother and Cohen aboard a helicopter, and later ran through  a hospital corridor to hold his grandmother, photos and video footage showed.

Israel released another 369 Palestinian prisoners to keep its side of the bargain, including 36 who were serving life sentences.

After weeks of Hamas forcing hostages to endure harrowing propaganda stagecraft prior to their release, the Israeli Prison System put on its own show Saturday, with the hundreds of Palestinian prisoners it was setting free.

A photo released showed the detainees wearing shirts featuring the prison system’s logo, the Star of David and a sentence in Arabic reading “We will not forget or forgive,” according to TOI
Israel and Hamas so far have conducted six swaps during the six-week truce, which went into effect in January and brought to a halt 15 months of fighting in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas’ surprise massacre in Israel that killed 1,200 and saw another 251 kidnapped.

The fact that the truce nearly cratered last week, however, has cast further doubt on any chances that the multistage cease-fire deal will extend beyond its first six-week phase, where 33 Israeli hostages are to be exchanged exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

So far, 24 hostages were freed — 19 Israelis and 5 Thai captives — and nearly 1,110 Palestinian prisoners have been released, including those turned over Saturday.

Netanyahu, however, has been facing pressure from his far-right allies in his governing coalition to resume fighting in Gaza at the currently scheduled end of the first stage in early March and implement a plan proposed by Trump calling for the forced resettlement of more than 2 million Gazans in neighboring Arab nations.

Those nations have largely refused to accept any Palestinians, though King Abdullah II of Jordan on Tuesday told Trump his nation will accept 2,000 sick children from Gaza.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel told Channel 12’s “Meet the Press” Saturday that Israel and the United States have been communicating about Trump’s plan to resettle Palestinians abroad, according to TOI.

“The process of emigration from Gaza will begin in the coming weeks,” Smotrich said.

With Post Wire Services