A former Palestinian prisoner is welcomed by relatives upon arriving in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on February 15, 2025. (Photo by Zain Jaafar / AFP)
Gaza: Israeli occupation authorities released 369 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, as part of the 6th batch of the first phase of the prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.
A bus carrying Palestinian prisoners from the 6th batch of the exchange deal arrived in the town of Beitunia, west of Ramallah, in the West Bank. Later, Palestinian prisoners from Gaza or those to be deported to Gaza will be included according to the agreement terms.
Qatar News Agency (QNA) correspondent reported the celebratory scenes of thousands of Palestinians and families of the prisoners in various areas of Ramallah to welcome the released prisoners.
The list announced yesterday includes 36 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment and 333 prisoners from Gaza who were arrested after October 7, 2023.
According to the list, 29 prisoners from the West Bank, and 7 from occupied Jerusalem and its suburbs, were released, while 24 prisoners were deported outside Palestine.
The Palestine Center for Prisoners stated that 35 leaders of the prisoners will be released today as part of the 6th batch of the first phase of the exchange deal.
The center added in a statement that after completing the 6th batch, the number of released leaders will reach 235, all of whom have spent more than 20 years in Israeli prisons, most of them serving life sentences.
The release of a new group of prisoners by Israel came after Hamas released 3 Israelis today, as part of the 6th batch of the first phase of the prisoner exchange deal.
On January 19, a ceasefire agreement and prisoner exchange between Hamas and the Israeli entity began, lasting 42 days in its first phase, during which negotiations for the second and third phases are taking place, with the mediation of Qatar and Egypt, and the support of the United States.
