Tel Aviv, Jan 25: Thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank city of Ramallah celebrated the arrival of buses carrying dozens of prisoners released as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
Israel said it released a total of 200 prisoners after Hamas freed four young, female Israeli soldiers.
The prisoners include 120 who were serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks on Israelis. Around 70 were released into Egypt.
Hamas frees four Israeli soldiers
Hamas militants handed over four captive female Israeli soldiers to the Red Cross in Gaza City on Saturday after parading them in front of a crowd. Israel followed with the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees as part of the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
They were likely acting under duress, with previously released hostages saying they were held in brutal conditions and forced to record propaganda videos.
Israel’s Prison Service later said it had completed the release of 200 Palestinians. They include 120 who had been serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis. Around 70 were released into Egypt, according to Egypt’s state-run Qahera TV. Egypt had served as a key mediator in the talks that led to the truce.
Later, buses carrying the remainder of the 200 Palestinian prisoners being released made their way from Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank toward Jerusalem and the city of Ramallah, where crowds of relatives and supporters awaited.
As the four Israeli soldiers were released, hundreds of people cheered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square where they were watching the drama unfold on a big screen television.
Israel insists on the release of a civilian hostage Netanyahu’s office later said that Arbel Yehoud, a civilian hostage held by Hamas, was supposed to have been released on Saturday. It said Israel would not allow Palestinians to begin returning to northern Gaza, which had been expected to begin by Sunday, until she is freed.
A senior Hamas official said the group has informed mediators that Yehoud will be released next week.
Meantime, an Egyptian official involved in the negotiations called the matter a “minor issue” that mediators are working to resolve. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. (AP)