Israel frees 200 Palestinians: most were sentenced to life imprisonment

Hamas freed four Israeli hostages this Saturday in exchange for 200 Palestinian detainees in the second exchange provided for by the truce agreement in the war in Gaza. This second exchange takes place almost a week after the entry into force of a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, devastated after more than 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas.

A last-minute disagreement prevented hundreds of thousands of displaced people from returning to the north of the Palestinian territory. Most of those released were received in Ramallah, West Bank, while others were transferred to Gaza. Among those released are 120 Palestinians sentenced to life imprisonment, of which 70 will be exiled outside the Palestinian Territories.

One of the prisoners, Mohamed Tous, 69, became the longest-serving Palestinian in Israel, having been imprisoned since 1985.

Palestinians were received in different territories

Of them, several groups came to Ramallah, in the West Bank, a territory occupied by Israel, where they were received by thousands of people. Others were transferred to Gaza. “It’s an indescribable feeling,” said one of them from the window of the bus in which he was traveling, according to images from the network.

Among those released is Mohamed Tous, the Palestinian detained for the longest time without interruption in Israel, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club organization. 69 years old, this member of Fatah, the movement founded by Yasser Arafat, had been in prison since 1985.

Since the beginning of the week, Hamas states that, under the terms of the agreement, the Israeli army must allow the passage of Palestinians from the south of the Gaza Strip north through the “Netzarim corridor”, an east-west axis controlled by the Israeli army and which divides the territory in two north of the city of Nuseirat.

But Israel conditions the return of these displaced people to the release of a civilian hostage, Arbel Yehud, whose release was announced for Saturday, according to Israeli authorities. Two Palestinian leaders assured AFP that the woman was in “good health” and would be released in the next exchange.

33 hostages against 1,900 detainees

This new exchange occurs within the framework of the phased truce that put a pause on more than 15 months of war. In the first stage, which should last six weeks, the release of 33 hostages is planned in exchange for 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.

Two buses carrying Palestinian prisoners arrived in the West Bank city of Beitunia –

The Israeli army said on Saturday it was very concerned about the situation of the last two hostage children, from a family of Argentine origin, who remain in the Gaza Strip. The October 2023 Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.

In addition, 251 people were kidnapped, of whom 91 remain in Gaza, although 34 are believed to be dead, according to the Israeli army. The Israeli offensive on Gaza Strip It left at least 47,283 dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Strip’s Ministry of Health, which the UN considers reliable.

It also devastated the territory and caused a humanitarian disaster. The truce has allowed several thousand trucks of humanitarian aid to enter the small territory in less than a week.

Israeli soldiers who were freed by Hamas

The four Israeli soldiers, kidnapped in the Islamist group’s unprecedented attack on October 7, 2023, were first handed over to the Red Cross, which transferred them to the Israeli army.

AFP

Shortly after crossing into Israeli territory, they were able to reunite with their parents. A helicopter then took them to the hospital and their condition was declared “stable,” said the deputy director of the medical center, located in Petah Tikvah, near Tel Aviv.

For his part, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, He said the release was a “very happy moment that we have been waiting for for a long time.” Before boarding the Red Cross vehicles, the four were presented on a stage in a square in Gaza City, where dozens of armed fighters wearing balaclavas gathered.

The four, in khaki uniforms, greeted the crowd smiling, according to AFP journalists at the scene.

“An indescribable feeling”

Between 19 and 20 years old, Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev, Liri Albag and Naama Levy were doing their military service in surveillance duties near the Gaza Strip, when they were kidnapped during the Islamist attack.

Recently released, Liri Albag thanked the Israelis for their support in a video. “I love you, all of you citizens of the State of Israel who have supported the families and comforted them, and you Tsahal soldiers who have done the most for us. Thank you very much, I love you,” he said in the recording.