Two Russian hostages released, at least one US citizen reportedly scheduled to be freed from Gaza

Two dual Russian-Israeli citizens were released from Gaza on Wednesday, while one U.S. citizen is reportedly scheduled to be released later in the day as part of a temporary ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. 

While 10 hostages were already scheduled to be released Wednesday, Hamas separately freed the two dual citizens in what it called a gesture to Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to The Times of Israel. 

The Israel Defense Forces says that the two Russian-Israelis returned to Israel, but the remaining 10 hostages have yet to be released.

This is not the first time that Hamas has released Russians who were kidnapped on Oct. 7 out of goodwill toward Putin. Roni Krivoy, who was attending the music festival for peace when he was kidnapped, was released Sunday after Putin directly intervened, according to The Jerusalem Post. 

Additionally, at least one American is expected to be released Wednesday, according to a report from CNN. 

Israel has had a temporary ceasefire with Hamas since Friday, after reaching an agreement that saw Hamas free 50 kidnapped civilians in exchange for 150 Palestinians who were convicted or suspected of terror in Israel. The ceasefire was extended for two days on Monday.

Of the approximately 240 people who were captured by terrorists on Oct. 7 in Israel, 85 have been released, per The New York Times. Several hostages have been found dead by Israeli forces in Gaza, while Hamas has claimed others have died in captivity.

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