Hamas gave a newly released Israeli-American hostage a gold coin to “celebrate” the birth of his daughter, which he missed while spending nearly 500 days in captivity, while handing an hourglass to mock the mother of another hostage still under the group’s control.
These cruel gestures were made to hostages Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, and Yair Horn, 46, during a propaganda-filled hostage release on Saturday in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis.
Dekel-Chen, who holds dual Israeli and U.S. citizenship, was presented with a gold coin in recognition of his daughter Shachar Mazal’s birth last year, as reported by Israel War Room.
Dekel-Chen, along with Horn and Russian-Israeli citizen Sasha Troufanov, was taken hostage from his home in Kibbutz Nir Or during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Dekel-Chen’s pregnant wife, Avital, and his two older daughters had sought refuge in a safe room during the attack, while he returned to the kibbutz to defend it.
At the time of his abduction, Avital was seven months pregnant and gave birth to their child in December 2023.
The father of three, whose family resides in Connecticut, learned of his daughter’s birth when he was released and handed over to Israeli officials on Saturday.
“I’m great, I’m great, I have a daughter,” he told Israel’s Channel 12 news when asked about his health.
Dekel-Chen was the second Israeli-American to be released, following Keith Siegel.
He was reunited with his wife, Avital, at an Israeli hospital on Saturday.
Horn, 46, was forced to hold an hourglass attached to a green base, featuring a photo of Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker and his mother Einav.
“Time is running out,” reads the inscription on the base, according to the Times of Israel.
The hourglass was placed in the center of a table during the release ceremony.
It is believed that the hourglass symbol was directed at Zangauker’s mother, who has played a key role in the efforts to secure the release of hostages since the war began nearly 500 days ago.
Zangauker, 25, was also abducted from Kibbutz Nir Or along with his girlfriend Ilana Gritzewsky during the deadly attack.
Gritzewsky, 30, was freed by Hamas in November.
Zangauker appeared in a hostage video released in December 2024.
Hamas has utilized the hourglass symbol in some of their psychological terror videos, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Zangauker was not among the first 33 hostages released during the initial phase of the ceasefire brokered between Hamas and Israel, which began on January 19.
{Matzav.com Israel}