Ceasefire Agreement: What Do We Know About Israeli Prisoners in Gaza? | News about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

When Palestinian fighters led by Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023 and captured around 250 people, it immediately raised the issue.

It has become of vital importance to much of Israeli society.

The captives immediately became a symbol for Israelis, used to justify Israel’s brutal war on Gaza – which has now killed more than 46,800 Palestinians. But the issue has also divided Israelis, many of them especially those who support the opposition Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuinsisting that the government had not done enough to secure a deal that would lead to their release.

Now that a ceasefire agreement agreed, the nightmare of captivity may soon end for those held in Gaza.

How many prisoners will be released from Gaza?

About 100 Israeli prisoners are believed to remain in Gaza, all of whom are expected to be released if the deal between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas is fully implemented.

But not everyone will be released at once. In the first six-week phase of the agreement, 33 prisoners are expected to be gradually released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Among the Israeli prisoners to be released at this stage are some who are sick or wounded, as well as female and male soldiers over 50 years of age.

Egypt said those freed in the first phase would be exchanged for 1,890 Palestinian prisoners. Israel said it would release 95 Palestinians, all women and children, on the first day of the ceasefire on Sunday.

The rest of the prisoners, all believed to be soldiers, will be released in later stages of the ceasefire deal, in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners.

What do we know about the identity of the prisoners who were released?

The official list of Israeli prisoners released in the first phase has not yet been released, and although the identities of the prisoners still in Gaza are known, it is not clear who is still alive.

Namely, on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the ceasefire will not begin until Israel receives a list of prisoners to be released.

Hamas said that a large number of Israeli prisoners were killed in Israeli attacks on the places where they were held, but videos with messages from some of the prisoners were also released.

While all of the remaining prisoners are Israeli, some hold dual citizenships, including those from the United States, Argentina and Germany.

The five prisoners are believed to be female soldiers who were captured during the October 7 raids.

And the two prisoners who are expected to be released in the first phase are Israelis who were captured in Gaza before October 7 and who spent years in the enclave.

What will the handover process be like?

While some prisoners were freed by Israeli forces in military operations that killed dozens of Palestinian civilians, more than 100 – the vast majority of those who left Gaza – were released under a temporary ceasefire in November 2023.

During this exchange of prisoners, the freed prisoners were transferred by the Palestinian fighters to the Red Cross, and then handed over to the Israeli forces.

Israel has prepared medical teams to receive the prisoners, and the head of the Hostage Families Forum’s health team, Hagai Levine, expects many to have cardiovascular and respiratory problems after spending so much time underground in the tunnels.

How important was their captivity in Israel?

The subject of prisoners has been a central issue in Israel and among pro-Israeli supporters since the beginning of the war.

Freeing the prisoners was one of Israel’s primary war goals, but it also arguably contradicts one of the other stated goals, the total defeat of Hamas.

That’s because Hamas has been offering to release prisoners since the start of the war as part of a deal that would end the war, a demand that Israel’s prime minister has until recently steadfastly refused.

In fact, Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has said that he has been able to use his political power to prevent any deal being reached over the past year, essentially putting the goal of defeating Hamas and building illegal Israeli settlements in Gaza above the release of prisoners. in the exchange of prisoners. Ben-Gvir is now expected to continue on the promise to resign if the deal is implemented.

However, the return of the captives is a primary demand for many Israelis. Their pictures are displayed on posters all over Israel, and the demand to “send them home now” is regularly heard at protests. A square in Tel Aviv has been renamed “Hostage Square” and is the center of demonstrations.

Family members of the prisoners have often clashed with members of the Israeli government, and the movement representing them has vowed to continue to push for the release of the prisoners. “We will not let them [far-right ministers] sabotage the full implementation of the deal,” a speaker at an event supporting the ceasefire deal said on Saturday.