The third group of 110 Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons was released on Thursday under the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel.
Palestinians were greeted by family members and friends upon their arrival in the city of Beitunia near the occupied city of Ramallah in the West Bank.
Nineteen prisoners were released from the Moskobiya detention center in Jerusalem. Earlier, Red Cross buses left Israel’s Ofer prison, west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, carrying dozens of Palestinian prisoners as part of the agreement.
According to the agreement, 110 Palestinians were released yesterday in exchange for three Israeli captives.
Five additional prisoners will be released from the Negev prison in southern Israel and sent to Gaza, while 20 will be transferred to Egypt.
Israeli authorities warned Palestinians on Thursday not to celebrate the release of detainees from Israeli prisons.
The warning was issued through leaflets and photos dropped by Israeli drones around the Ofer military prison, west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, shortly before the planned release of 110 Palestinians.
“Anyone participating in such events risks arrest. We have warned you, and we are watching you,” one leaflet read.
Despite these warnings, a large number of Palestinians gathered in front of Ofer prison, carrying flags as they waited for the prisoners to be released.
Hamas freed three Israelis and five Thai workers early Thursday morning under the ceasefire agreement in Gaza. Thousands of Palestinians gathered during the handover ceremony of Israeli captives.
“Mass gatherings during the handover of Israeli captives in Jabalia and Khan Younis, amid the ruins in northern and southern Gaza, send a message to the (Israeli) occupation that the Palestinian people will remain on their land,” Hamas stated.
The first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement took effect on January 19th, halting the genocidal war in Israel, which since October 7th, 2023, has killed more than 47.400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 111.000.
So far, ten Israeli captives have been released in exchange for 290 Palestinians since the agreement took effect.
Under the first phase of the agreement, 33 Israeli captives will be released in exchange for approximately 1.700 to 2.000 Palestinian prisoners.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the war in the Palestinian enclave.
