Tel Aviv: Israel on Monday released 90 Palestinian prisoners hours after three Israeli hostages were released from Gaza. The development marked the first successful exchange of hostages under the Gaza ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hamas, ending the 15-month-long conflict in the region.
The Palestinian detainees were released from Israel’s Ofer prison, just outside the West Bank city of Ramallah, reported The Associated Press. As per the Palestinian Authority’s Commission for Prisoners’ Affairs, the prisoners released by Israel were women or minors.
– Hamas reportedly released three women hostages held after Hamas attacked parts of Israel on October 7. According to reports, a total of 33 people were taken hostage during the attack.
– During the initial 42 days of the ceasefire, these 33 Israeli hostages will be returned. In exchange, Israel will also release Palestinian prisoners.
– Three Israeli hostages released by Gaza are – Emily, Doron and Romi. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) shared a video of their release and images of meeting their family members.
– Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated the three Israeli hostages on their homecoming. “Romi, Doron and Emily – an entire nation embraces you, with congratulations on your homecoming. This moment was achieved thanks to the sacrifice and fighting of our heroic fighters – the heroes of Israel. I promise: We will bring everyone home!” Netanyahu said in his X post.
Israeli Hostages Reuniting With Family Members:
– The release took place in the middle of the night. Palestinians criticised the timing of the release as what they perceive as an attempt to dampen the mood and deter crowds from welcoming the prisoners home, reported the global news agency.
– The most prominent of the detainees being freed is 62-year-old Khalida Jarrar, a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). It is a secular Leftist faction that was involved in hijackings and other attacks against Israel in the 1970s. However, it scaled back its military activities recently.
– Since her arrest in December 2023, Jarrar was held under indefinitely renewable six-month administrative detention order. Notably, this practice is denounced by human rights groups as a violation of international law.
– Dalal Khaseeb, the sister of late senior Hamas official Saleh Arouri was also released. Notably, Arouri was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut in January 2024.
– Abla Abdelrasoul, the wife of jailed PFLP leader Ahmad Saadat, was among the 90 prisoners released by Israel.
– As per the agreement for the swap, laid out as part of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, Hamas will be gradually releasing 33 Israeli hostages held in the Palestinian enclave over the next six weeks in exchange for Israel releasing nearly 2,000 prisoners and detainees from the West Bank and Gaza.
The 42-day first stage of the ceasefire deal was reached on Wednesday through the mediation of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States.
