Israel released 90 Palestinians from prison overnight from Sunday to Monday. The detainees concerned are all women and minors.
Israel has released 90 Palestinians from prison as part of the ceasefire in Gaza. The detainees affected are all women and minors, according to a list provided by the Palestinian Authority Prisoners’ Affairs Commission. They were released from the Ofer military prison in the occupied West Bank and a detention center in Jerusalem shortly after midnight on Monday.
Most of them had been detained for several years, for national security offenses ranging from stone throwing to more serious charges such as attempted murder. Hours earlier, three Israeli hostages – Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher – were freed by Hamas and returned to Israel.
All three are currently being treated in a Tel Aviv hospital and their condition is considered stable. Israel is expected to release 30 to 50 Palestinians in exchange for each Israeli hostage from Hamas.
The ceasefire between the Jewish state and the Islamist group came into force on Sunday morning at 11:15 a.m. local time almost three hours late, due to the delay in publishing by Hamas the names of the hostages to be released in the day. Before the cessation of hostilities, the Israeli army carried out strikes which left eight people dead in the Gaza Strip, according to the local Civil Defense.
In the first phase of the agreement, Hamas agreed to release 33 hostages over six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. The second phase provides for a permanent cessation of fighting, the release of remaining hostages and the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip.
Finally, a third stage provides for the reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave completely destroyed by nearly a year and a half of bombings. In exchange, Hamas will hand over the bodies of all the hostages who have died since the start of the conflict.
