Israeli hostages Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Sasha Troufanov are expected to return from Gaza today after Egyptian and Qatari mediators helped avert a standoff that threatened to sink a fragile ceasefire that has halted fighting for almost a month, Reuters reports.

Hamas said the three would be returned, in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, easing fears that the agreement could collapse before the end of a 42-day ceasefire.

Dekel-Chen, a US-Israeli, Troufanov, a Russian Israeli, and Horn, whose brother Eitan was also abducted, were seized in Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the communities around the Gaza Strip that was overrun by Hamas gunmen on Oct 7, 2023.

Before today, 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 around half of whom are thought to be alive.