Ramallah, West Bank, Jan 25 (EFE).- Around 100 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel on Saturday arrived in Ramallah, West Bank, where a reception was held to welcome them.
The freed Palestinians were transported on buses to a designated center, greeted by hundreds of people, including family members who lifted them onto their shoulders as they disembarked.
The prisoners are part of 200 persons released by Israel as part of a second exchange of hostages under a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. In return, Hamas released four Israeli female soldiers.
A spokesperson for the Commission of Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners in the West Bank said of the 200 released, approximately 115 were freed in the West Bank, 15 in the Gaza Strip, and 70 in Egypt.
Another Palestinian source in Gaza reported that 107 prisoners were released in Ramallah and five in Jerusalem.
The prisoners arrived at the Ramallah Recreational Center, where crowds waved Palestinian, Fatah, and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine flags. Family members and Red Cross personnel were also present.
Dressed in gray tracksuits and with shaved heads, the prisoners were carried through the cheering crowd, embraced by family and supporters.
According to the prisoners commission, 120 of the released prisoners were serving life sentences.
The breakdown includes 81 Hamas members, 23 from Islamic Jihad, 13 from Fatah, two from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and one from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Among those freed was Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Hamid Al Tus, 69, the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody since 1985. The youngest released was Saiz Nasser Mahmud Arar, aged 15.
Seventy of the released prisoners will be deported, including Al Tus, who is expected to be transferred from Egypt to Algeria, Turkey, or Tunisia, according to Ameen Shoman, head of the West Bank’s Prisoners Commission.
In Gaza, Hamas released the four Israeli female soldiers in good health. They are currently being treated at an Israeli hospital.
A Hamas political bureau member stated that if the prisoner exchange proceeds smoothly, the group will provide Israel with a list of living and deceased hostages still in Gaza.
As of now, 87 of the 251 hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks remain in Gaza. Israeli officials believe at least 35 hostages are dead, though the number could be higher, prompting demands for a full accounting during the ceasefire talks. EFE
ngg-mt-sk
