Four Hamas members who were abducted en route to the Cairo airport more than three years ago arrived Feb. 28, unannounced, back at the Gaza Strip. Neither Hamas nor Egyptian authorities had mentioned anything about the matter ahead of time.

For years, Egypt repeatedly denied any connection to the disappearance of the men, who were taken by unidentified gunmen in Sinai on Aug. 19, 2015. The Hamas members had been on a bus heading from the Rafah border crossing to Cairo International Airport.

Their release came after a three-week visit from a high-ranking delegation headed by Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh to Egypt, where he held talks with officials in the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate. Upon returning to the Gaza Strip on Feb. 28, Haniyeh said the talks had centered on the abducted men. He thanked the Egyptian leadership for its decision, which he said “reflects the deep relations between the two peoples.”

The men were Abdel Dayem Abu Labda, Abdullah Abu al-Jabin, Hussein al-Zebda and Yasser Zanoun. Four other men unaffiliated with Hamas who had been kidnapped at the same time also were released.