Gaza: The Israeli occupation authorities released a batch of Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, which went into effect last Friday. This followed the release of 20 Israeli prisoners by Hamas this morning.

According to Qatar News Agency, the Prisoners’ Information Office reported that all Palestinian prisoners scheduled for release traveled on buses to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It noted that West Bank prisoners were transferred from Ofer Prison to Beitunia in Ramallah, while Gaza Strip prisoners were transferred from Negev Prison.

The office explained that the occupation authorities released 1,716 prisoners from the Gaza Strip, who arrived via the Karem Abu Salem crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, to Nasser Medical Complex. The prisoners were also transferred to 250 prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli prisons, both to the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, and abroad.

The office stated that the 154 Palestinian prisoners deported abroad were received and transferred to Egypt to complete their release procedures as part of the prisoner exchange deal.

Qatar News Agency’s correspondent reported that Palestinian families of prisoners and thousands of citizens gathered at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis to welcome the released prisoners, amid cheers and popular celebrations of their liberation from Israeli prisons as part of the prisoner exchange deal.

A medical source at the complex said that medical teams received the released prisoners and transferred those in need of treatment and medical examinations, especially given their deteriorating health, the appearance of symptoms of exhaustion and fatigue, and their inability to move.

Prior to the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons, Hamas handed over 20 Israeli prisoners, including soldiers, to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza as part of the terms of the exchange deal. In the first phase, the ICRC received seven living prisoners who were transferred to the Israeli occupation. In the second phase, it received 13 other prisoners, including all remaining living prisoners in Gaza.

According to Palestinian prisoner affairs bodies, the Israeli occupation is holding more than 11,100 prisoners in its prisons, the majority of whom are administrative detainees and detainees. This number does not include detainees held in Israeli military camps. Meanwhile, the number of prisoners in the Gaza Strip has risen to more than 4,000 since the beginning of the aggression on the Strip on October 7, 2023.

The prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel is one of the terms of the ceasefire agreement brokered by Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, and the United States. The agreement was reached in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, and went into effect last Friday, as part of the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the war on Gaza.