Israel releases 183 Palestinian prisoners as Hamas condemns ‘torture, abuse’

Two Palestinian prisoners’ rights groups say Israel has released 183 Palestinian detainees in exchange for three Israeli captives as part of the fourth prisoner swap under the ceasefire agreement between the occupying regime and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas. 

The Commission of Detainees' and Ex-Detainees' Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) said in a statement on Saturday that Israeli authorities released 183 prisoners including 111 from the Gaza Strip, who were detained following the regime’s genocidal war on the besieged enclave on October 7, 2023.

Of the Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails today, 18 had received life sentences and 54 were serving lengthy sentences, the Palestinian prisoners' advocacy groups said. 

Israeli forces declared the area near Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank a closed military zone ahead of the release, preventing families from gathering to welcome and celebrate the return of their loved ones.

Israeli forces later fired sound bombs toward the crowd, as hundreds of local residents and detainees’ families gathered in the city of Ramallah to receive the released prisoners while raising Palestinian flags.

In the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, buses carrying the released Palestinian prisoners arrived, amid scenes of joy.

People could be seen waving Palestinian flags and speaking to their family members from the buses, as the families reunited.

Hamas reported that many of the released Palestinian prisoners exhibit signs of torture and abuse. According to Hamas, the prisoners are currently receiving medical treatment at facilities in Gaza.

“This confirms the brutality of what the prisoners are exposed to at the hands of the fascist Zionist gang, which is devoid of all human values and ignores international laws related to prisoners,” it said in a statement.

The group urged the international community, including the United Nations and human rights organizations, to hold Israel accountable for these “horrific and ongoing violations” that it said constitute “war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Earlier in the day, Hamas handed over three more Israeli captives to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) officials in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners to be released later.   

Two of the captives were released Saturday in the southern city of Khan Yunis in a swift and organized ceremony with a few onlookers, while the third was submitted to the ICRC later in Gaza City in the north.

Hamas hands three Israeli captives to Red Cross in fourth swap

The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement hands over three more Israeli captives in the fourth swap of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The Gaza ceasefire deal began on January 19 intending to end the 15-month Israeli war on Gaza and free captives still held in the blockaded territory in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. 

Israel has released a list of more than 700 Palestinian prisoners to be released under the deal. More than 230 prisoners are serving life sentences and will be permanently sent to exile upon their release.

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