Israel’s jail officials said Palestinian prisoners were released early Sunday, with subsequent footage showing them welcomed home by fellow Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of East al-Quds.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari had said ahead of the exchange that in the second phase of the swap deal, 39 Palestinian prisoners would be released by Israel. They included 33 youths, who had been captured by Israeli forces when they were children, and six women.
Their release came after Hamas freed 13 Israeli captives, including six women and seven children and teenagers, in addition to four Thai citizens.
Under the prisoner exchange agreement, which was mediated by Qatar and Egypt, during the four-day truce in Gaza, at least 50 Israeli captives are expected to be freed. In exchange, 150 Palestinian prisoners are to be released, all women and children.
The temporary ceasefire entered into force on Friday, after Israel’s latest aggression against Gaza killed nearly 15,000 Palestinians. Israel’s genocidal war began on October 7 after the territory’s resistance groups launched Operation al-Aqsa Storm into the occupied territories.
Hamas and Israel carried out the first phase of the prisoner swap deal on Friday. It saw 39 Palestinian female and child prisoners released from Israel’s Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank. In return, 13 women and children, some holding dual citizenship, were released by Hamas in addition to 10 Thai captives and one Filipino.
The second phase of the prisoner swap came after an hours-long delay, which Hamas said was due to the Israeli regime’s violation of the terms of the truce deal.
