A total of 200 Palestinian prisoners were released to jubilant scenes in the West Bank after Israel freed them in exchange for four female hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
More than half of the 200 released were serving life sentences in Israeli prisons – some convicted of multiple murders, including the killing of Israeli civilians. Others have never been charged with a crime.
About 70 of the most serious criminals were deported via Egypt to neighboring countries, including Qatar and Turkey.
A smaller number will be sent to Gaza. The rest – just over 120 – will be allowed to return to their homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
“After the completion of the necessary activities in the prisons and the approval of the political authorities, all terrorists were released from Ofer and Ktziot prisons,” the Israel Prison Service said in a statement.
Some of the freed prisoners rose to cheers and fireworks after they got off the bus.
An argument then broke out as they tried to find their loved ones and family members, before heading to the sports complex where the celebrations continued.
“Thank God! It’s a great feeling, I can’t describe this feeling! I’ve been in prison for six years and two months,” prisoner Bakker Kwaawish announced after getting off one of the buses dressed in the fatigues of a gray female prisoner.
The youngest Palestinian prisoner released on Saturday was 16 years old. The oldest, Mohammed al-Tous, was 69 years old. He spent 39 years in prison, and was first arrested in 1985 while fighting against Israeli forces.
Another prisoner, Mohammad al-Ardah, was part of a high-profile jailbreak in 2021.
A total of 121 released prisoners were serving life sentences.
Some of the prisoners were held for short periods of time, and some were never charged with a crime but were held under something called administrative detention.
Saturday’s exchange was the second since the cease-fire took effect on January 19. Three hostages and 90 Palestinian prisoners were released in the first exchange.
During last week’s prisoner release, it visibly showed support for Hamas, but on Saturday Fatah, the ruling West Bank party that dominates the Palestinian Authority (PA), was out in force to show its support for the prisoners.
Earlier on Saturday, Four female Israeli soldiers who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023 have been released from Gaza.
Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag, all aged between 19 and 20, were released to the Red Cross in Gaza City during a highly choreographed handover involving dozens of Hamas Gunmen.
However, Israel accused Hamas of violating the terms of the truce because the female civilian hostage Arbel Yehud was not included in Saturday’s release.
Israel said it would delay the planned return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, while Hamas insisted the hostage would be released next weekend.
A January cease-fire agreement halted the war that began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages to Gaza.
More than 47,200 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s offensive, the Gaza Health Ministry says.
