Israel set to release 620 Palestinian prisoners

Six Israeli hostages handed over as part of the seventh exchange deal in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza. (Photo/AA)

Israeli authorities are set to release 620 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday as part of the seventh batch of the first phase in the prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel.

The list of released prisoners includes 50 individuals serving life sentences, 60 prisoners with long-term sentences, and 41 prisoners who had been re-arrested after being freed in the 2011 Shalit deal, according to statements from Palestinian institutions, including the Prisoners' Information Office, the Commission of Detainees' Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners' Society.

The list also includes 23 children, one woman, and 445 detainees from Gaza, who were arrested after October 7, 2023.

Among those being released, 97 prisoners are set to be forcibly deported. Ninety-five prisoners are affiliated with Hamas, 40 with Fatah, 12 with Islamic Jihad, and four with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Among them are 10 who were arrested before the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, were freed under the Shalit deal in 2011, and were re-arrested by the Israeli army in 2014.

Arrested in 1970s

Among the prisoners are Nael al-Burghouti, who was first arrested in 1978; Alaa al-Bazyan, who was first arrested in 1979; and Samer al-Mahroum, who was first arrested in 1986.

Earlier in the day, the Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, handed over six Israeli captives to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Rafah, Nuseirat and Gaza City.

The Palestinian group designated two handover sites: one in Rafah, the southern part of the besieged enclave, and another in Nuseirat, central Gaza.

In Rafah, the designated site was less than a kilometre from Israeli occupational force positions in the south of the city.

The area saw a large gathering of Palestinians.

Two Israeli hostages, Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu, were handed over at this location.

Similarly, in Nuseirat, crowds of Palestinians gathered at the designated site, anticipating the handover of the other four hostages.

Hostages Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem-Tov, and Omer Wenkert were released in Nuseirat.

A sixth hostage, 36-year-old Hesham al-Sayed, was later released soon, reportedly without ceremony in Gaza City.

Avera Mengistu and Hisham Al-Sayed, the two hostages released today have been held in Gaza since 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Hamas has been pushing for a prisoner swap with Israel for Mengistu and Al-Sayed for many years, but Tel Aviv has time and again been averse to the idea.

Rights groups have lambasted Israel several times for discriminating against the freedom of the two hostages, accusing Israel of racial partiality.

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Source: TRT