Over 1,890 Palestinian prisoners are expected to be released in exchange for 33 Israeli hostages in the first phase of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire agreement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced late Saturday night, January 18.
In an official statement, the ministry said that the Palestinian prisoners would be freed during the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire which is set to begin at 0630 GMT (12:00 pm IST) on Sunday, January 19, Emirates News Agency WAM reported.
According to the ceasefire agreement, Israel will gradually release the Palestinian prisoners including 1,167 residents detained from Gaza. In return, Hamas is expected to release 33 Israeli hostages.
The Israeli Ministry of Justice has also released a list of 95 Palestinian women and children set to be released if the implementation of the ceasefire deal begins.
Israeli forces will pull back from many areas in Gaza allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to what’s left of their homes.
Prominent detainees in the release list
Hundreds of Palestinian detainees are to be released as well, and the largely devastated Gaza should see a surge in humanitarian aid.
Israel said that many of the prisoners on the list were convicted of murder, such as Ahmed Barghouti, who was serving 13 life terms for the murder of 12 Israelis, and Majdi Zaatari, sentenced to 23 life terms plus 50 years for facilitating a 2003 suicide bombing in Jerusalem that killed 23 people.
Also slated for release is senior Hamas member Salim Hajja, who was serving 16 life terms for his involvement in a suicide bus attack in Haifa in 2001, in which 15 people were killed, and Mohammed Naifa, a senior militant in the Tanzim militant faction, who was convicted of murdering 13 Israelis and sentenced to 13 life terms.
The list also includes Zakaria Zubeidi, commander of Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades in Jenin, West Bank, Xinhua news agency reported. Israeli citizens, particularly victims’ families, are allowed to petition the High Court of Justice to challenge the release of specific prisoners.
Palestinian and Israeli media reported that the Palestinian political leader and human rights and feminist advocate, Khalida Jarrar is also expected to be released. Jarrar has been held in administrative detention since December 2023. She has reportedly spent the past six months in solitary confinement in a 2-by-1.5m cell.
The prospect of the 61-year-old’s release gave her hope that Jarrar would at least leave solitary confinement and end the harshest imprisonment she had ever endured, Jarrar’s sister, Salam Alratrot, told Middle East Eye.
Originally from Nablus, Jarrar began her activism as a teenager.
Hamas-Israel ceasefire deal
On Saturday, the Israeli government approved a ceasefire agreement aimed at the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, following a lengthy cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister’s Office said. At the meeting, 24 ministers voted in favour and eight against.
On January 17, Hamas said that disputes were resolved after the group affirmed its commitment to the full terms of the accord in a statement.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel killing 1,200 people and 250 others captive. Nearly 100 hostages remain in Gaza.
Israel responded with a devastating offensive that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half the dead.
However, 24 hours after the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel was announced, a military operation by the Israeli army cost the lives of 88 Palestinians, mainly women and children, Gaza’s Health Ministry informed. In previous conflicts, both sides stepped up military operations in the final hours before ceasefires to project strength.
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