Left— Released Palestinian prisoner Marah Joudat Moussa Bakeer (Photo: rdooan/X)
Israel on Friday released 39 Palestinian prisoners under a four-day ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar.
The first batch of Palestinian prisoners 24 women and 15 children was released at the entrance to the Israeli Ofer prison, west of Ramallah.
They were accused of various crimes, including throwing stones and attempted murder, with some convicted and others awaiting trial.
Social media platforms have shared video clips of released Palestinian prisoners hugging their families, interspersed with screams and tears of joy.
23-year-old Malak Salman’s reunion with her mother after eight years has gone viral on social media platforms.
The video shows Malak entering her home and running towards her mother’s embrace, rejoicing in tears and screams, unable to let go of each other.
According to Al Jazeera, the released prisoner 23-year-old Aseel Munir expressed her great joy at her release, saying, “We are stronger than them,” in reference to the Israeli forces.
Sarah Abdullah, a released prisoner, prostrated in gratitude upon her arrival in Nablus, West Bank, stating she had been sentenced to eight years in prison.
24-year-old Marah Bakeer, who was among those released in Jerusalem, told Al Jazeera, “I’m a little nervous and stunned; I can’t believe I’m out. The years spent in jail were hard. But I have a strong personality and faith in God.”
Bakeer was arrested in October 2015 after being hit by multiple bullets by Israeli forces and has been in Israeli prison ever since. At the time of arrest, she was 16 years old.
She is still suffering from the effects of the injury and is in urgent need of medical treatment.
The names of the released Palestinian prisoners were published by Prisoners’ Club and the Prisoners’ Authority in a joint statement.
This came after Palestinian militant group Hamas released 24 hostages including 13 Israelis, 10 people from Thailand, and one from the Philippines.
On Friday morning, Israel and Hamas entered into the first four-day temporary humanitarian truce since the start of the devastating war on the Gaza Strip on October 7.
Under the ceasefire deal, the prisoners will be released in batches, to include 50 Israelis and 150 Palestinians, all of whom are women and children from both sides.
Hamas captured 239 hostages in an October 7 surprise attack on Israel, while Israel detained 7,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 200 children, 78 women, and hundreds of sick and wounded people.
The Israeli war on Gaza resulted in 14,854 Palestinian deaths, 6,150 children, and over 4,000 women, while 36,000 were injured, with over 75 percent being children and women.
This post was last modified on November 25, 2023 1:34 pm