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Hamas Hands Over All Living Israeli Captives

Above photo: AA.

Palestinian prisoner release begins.

Nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners are being released by Israel in line with the ceasefire agreement.

All living Israeli captives were released by Hamas on 13 October and have returned to Israel as part of the ceasefire agreement’s exchange formula.

The 20 living captives were handed over to the Red Cross before being returned to Israel by the Israeli military.

The Israeli army confirmed the final 13 captives were handed over, after initially receiving seven. The captives have been taken to hospitals for checkups and to meet their family members.

The coming hours will also see the resistance release the bodies of deceased Israeli captives.

Meanwhile, Israel is releasing a total of 1,966 Palestinian prisoners. Buses carrying prisoners have already begun departing from Israel’s Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank, with some having arrived in Ramallah – one of the drop-off points.

Buses have also left Negev Prison toward the Gaza Strip.

The 1,966 include 250 prisoners serving life sentences. Over 150 of the 250 will be exiled. Another 88 will be released to the occupied West Bank, while eight will be released to Gaza. 

Palestinians and journalists waiting outside Ofer prison were targeted with tear gas by Israeli forces.

Israeli forces also circulated a flyer warning that any celebration or show of support for the released prisoners would result in arrests.

The lawyer for the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Jerusalem, Siraj Abu Arafa, said the families of the prisoners were summoned by Tel Aviv and threatened.

The conditions of release include “no gatherings or assemblies, no celebrations, and that each released prisoner would be escorted to his home by an intelligence vehicle.” Meanwhile, Israelis are celebrating in joy over the return of their captives.

“We know that since 7 October [2023], while torture and violence will have been systematically practiced inside Israeli prisons, these prisoners have been subjected to a brutal campaign. They have been brutally beaten, tortured, and violated. We’ve witnessed and heard stories of sexual violence,” Basil Farraj, a professor at Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank, told Al Jazeera.

He added that the release of prisoners will “not end the struggle” of those who remain imprisoned.

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