Israel: 90 Palestinian abductees freed in first exchange of Gaza ceasefire deal

Israel has released ninety Palestinian abductees as part of the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal with the Hamas resistance movement.

All the Palestinian abductees were freed from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Israel Prison Service said on Monday.  

They were carried by buses to the West Bank town of Beitunia and the city of Ramallah.

Hundreds of Palestinians hit the streets of Beitunia and Ramallah in jubilation, waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans to express their joy.

They also carried flags of several resistance movements, including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.

Freed female prisoners could be seen smiling and flashing V-signs inside the buses.

The 90 prisoners released early on Monday morning – all women and children – are the first of what is expected to be more than 1,000 Palestinians freed under the terms in the first phase of the ceasefire deal, and in exchange for 33 Israeli captives held in Gaza.

More than 230 of the Palestinian prisoners who will be freed under the agreement are expected to be exiled by Israel immediately upon their release, AFP reported.

Who are released Palestinian prisoners?

Ninety Palestinian prisoners have been released on the first day of the ceasefire agreement. They are all women or children.

The freed prisoners include Khalida Jarrar, a politician and leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli authorities have previously imprisoned Jarrar on multiple occasions for charges including “incitement” related to her public statements about the Israeli occupation.

The Palestinians released also include children, some of whom were imprisoned indefinitely for throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers.

Palestinians are mostly serving administrative detention, which is a tactic used by Israeli policy to keep people in prison indefinitely without charges.

Israel had said earlier that 737 Palestinian prisoners would be freed during the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire.

In the meantime, Hamas confirmed the transfer of three Israeli captives to representatives from the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC).

"The Red Cross has communicated that the three Israeli hostages were transferred to them and are on their way toward IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip," Israel’s military said in a statement, using acronyms for Israel's military and the Israeli Security Agency respectively.

The three captives— Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher —were the first of 33 that the resistance group is expected to free during the first phase of the ceasefire deal.

Under the agreement, Hamas will release four captives on Day 7 of the ceasefire and the remaining 26 will be released over the next five weeks.

Foreign captives, including Americans, are also expected to be released in addition to the 33 Israeli captives, CNN reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

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