section_path: Ceasefire and hostage/prisoner exchanges/Sixth exchange (15 February)
section_name: Sixth exchange (15 February)
paragraph_text: Sixth exchange (15 February)
  
  On 14 February, PIJ announced that it will release Israeli-Russian hostage Alexandre Trufanov, while Hamas announced that it will release Israeli-American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen and Israeli-Argentinean hostage Yair Horn the next day. All three are civilians and were abducted during the Nir Oz attack. They were released on 15 February at a makeshift stage in Khan Yunis "close to the house" of the former leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, in front of a crowd. The stolen vehicle belonging to Yair Horn's brother, Eitan Horn (who himself was still being held hostage as of 15 February), was identified at the scene of the hostage release.
  
  Israel reciprocated by releasing 369 Palestinians. Some of the released were struggling to walk, and others showed signs of physical torture. Many Palestinians had lost significant weight and confirmed they were denied food in Israeli captivity; one Palestinian went to an Israeli prison weighing 95 kg but came out weighing only 45 kg. The prisoners were released with Israeli Prison Service (IPS) issued sweatshirts saying in Arabic "Never forgive, never forget" along with the Star of David and the logo of the IPS. Some of the released prisoners threw their sweatshirts on the ground and burned them upon arrival in Gaza. Hamas criticized the sweatshirt saying that the messages on the shirts were racist. An anonymous source within the Israeli government also condemned the shirts saying that they were "problematic" and "that the political echelon was not informed about the decision".
  
  Of the 369 Palestinians released, 333 had been held by Israel under administrative detention (a practice that allows Israel to imprison Palestinians without any formal charges or trial). The rest of the 36 were serving life sentences for attacks that took the lives of Israelis. Of the thirty-six who were serving life sentences, twelve were released to the West Bank and East Jerusalem, with the rest exiled abroad. These Palestinians had been convicted in Israeli courts of partaking in attacks that killed Israeli civilians, such as Seafood Market attack, the 2002 Hadera attack, and the Jaffa Street bombing. One of the Palestinian convicts released said he was wrongfully convicted.