More Palestinian Prisoners Released from Israeli Jails in Swap Deal with Hamas
The Israeli prison officials said the Palestinian prisoners were released early Sunday and were welcomed by fellow Palestinians in the occupied East al-Quds. The prisoners included 33 youths who were arrested by the occupation forces when they were children and six women.
The release came after Hamas freed 13 Israeli captives, including six women and seven children and teenagers, as well as four Thai citizens.
The prisoner swap deal, which was mediated by Qatar and Egypt, is expected to continue for four more days during the truce in Gaza. Under the deal, at least 50 Israeli captives and 150 Palestinian prisoners, all women and children, are to be exchanged.
The truce, which came into effect on Friday, ended 48 days of relentless Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling that killed at least 14,854 Palestinians, including 6,150 children and over 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the Gaza Strip.
Israel also targeted and destroyed thousands of homes, schools, hospitals, mosques, and infrastructure, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless.
The Israeli attacks came after Hamas launched Operation al-Aqsa Flood on October 7 in response to decades-long Israeli violence against Palestinians. Hamas and other resistance groups fired thousands of rockets and missiles into the occupied territories, causing casualties and damage.
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Hamas and Israel carried out the first phase of the prisoner swap deal on Friday when 39 Palestinian female and child prisoners were freed from Israel's Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank. In return, Hamas released 13 women and children, some holding dual citizenship, as well as 10 Thai captives and one Filipino.
The second phase of the prisoner swap was delayed for several hours, which Hamas said was due to Israel's violation of the terms of the truce deal. According to al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, Israel did not fulfill its obligations on issues such as easing the delivery of humanitarian aid and fuel to Gaza and stopping gunfire that led to more deaths and injuries among civilians.
Source: Agencies
