Israel to release 1,904 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in 1st stage of deal

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Palestinians wave Hamas flags as they celebrate the release of Palestinian prisoners in Nablus in the West Bank, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Palestinians wave Hamas flags as they celebrate the release of Palestinian prisoners in Nablus in the West Bank, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

In the first stage of the ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, Israel is expected to be releasing a total of 1,904 Palestinian prisoners.

They include 737 detainees and security prisoners, including numerous terrorists serving life sentences for murder, among them members of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah movement, along with women and children being held in Israeli jails.

Israel will also be releasing 1,167 Palestinians detained in the Gaza Strip during the IDF’s ground offensive, who did not participate in the October 7, 2023, onslaught.

On Sunday, the first three female hostages from the list of 33 humanitarian cases — a category made up of women, children, elderly individuals, and the infirm — are set to be released.

The other 30 hostages on the list will be released each Saturday until the end of the 42-day deal.

The hostages will be released in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners detailed in the terms of the deal.

For each of the living women, children and elderly, 30 Palestinian prisoners will be released; for all nine sick hostages, 110 prisoners will be released; for each of the female IDF soldiers, 50 prisoners will be released; for hostages Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who have been held in Gaza for a decade, 30 prisoners will be released for each, in addition to 47 Palestinians released in the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal and re-arrested; and for the bodies of hostages in the first stage, Israel will release the 1,000+ Gazan detainees.

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