In exchange for the hostages’ release, Israel is freeing 183 Palestinian prisoners, some convicted of involvement in attacks that killed dozens of people, as well as 111 detained in Gaza during the war.
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In Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a bus carrying 42 freed Palestinian prisoners was welcomed by a cheering crowd.
Among those freed was Eyad Abu Shkaidem, sentenced to 18 life terms in Israel for masterminding suicide attacks in revenge for Israel’s 2004 assassinations of Hamas leaders.
“Today, I am reborn,” Shkaidem told reporters upon arrival in Ramallah, as the crowd cheered.
Many of the prisoners freed appeared in poor health and some complained of ill-treatment. “The occupation humiliated us for over a year,” said Shkaidem.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the conflict.
Rights groups have reported grave abuses of Palestinians in Israeli detention since the start of the Gaza war. The Israeli military is investigating several cases of alleged abuse but rejects allegations of systematic abuse within its detention facilities.
Some hostages face a painful return. Sharabi’s two teenage daughters and his British-born wife were slain in the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Be’eri. Levy will be reunited with his three-year-old son after losing his wife in the attack.
The exchange is the latest in a series of swaps that have so far returned 13 Israeli and five Thai hostages and released 583 Palestinian prisoners and detainees since the ceasefire took effect on January 19.
But fears the deal might collapse before all the hostages are free have grown since US President Donald Trump’s surprise call for Palestinians to be moved from Gaza and for the enclave to be handed to the United States and developed into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
Arab states and Palestinian groups have rejected Trump’s proposal, which critics said would amount to ethnic cleansing. Hamas said on Saturday that its armed display at the hostage handover demonstrated it could not be excluded from post-war Gaza arrangements.
Netanyahu, however, welcomed Trump’s intervention and his defence minister ordered the military to make plans to allow Palestinians who wished to leave Gaza to do so.
Under the ceasefire deal, 33 Israeli children, women and sick, wounded and older men are to be released during the first stage in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
Negotiations on a second phase began this week aimed at returning the remaining hostages and agreeing a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in preparation for a final end to the war.
Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
In response, Israel launched an air and ground war in Gaza that has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated much of the enclave.
AP, Reuters
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2025-02-08 04:27:37