About 90 Palestinian prisoners have been released in exchange for three Israeli hostages handed over by Hamas to Israel, as part of the ceasefire deal aimed at ending 15 months of war.
The prisoners, most of whom were freed in the early hours of Monday from Ofer prison in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, were welcomed by thousands of people celebrating, waving the flags of Palestine and Hamas.
Mothers, fathers, siblings and friends had waited for hours in the cold to embrace their loved ones as part of the agreement.
Among those released was Shatha Jarabaa, 24, who was arrested over a social media post criticising the “brutality” of Israel’s campaign in Gaza. “I’m very happy! Thank God I’m outside. They treated me very bad in prison. It was horrible,” she told the Guardian
She was greeted by her father, Nawaf Jarabaa, 63, who said earlier: “I’m happy, but not too happy … My daughter was arrested simply for expressing her ideas … The thing that bothers me the most is that people think that the Israelis have only behaved this way towards us since 7 October, but the truth is that it has always been like this.’’
His anticipation was also tempered by the fact that two other children were not included in the deal.
Another prisoner released was Ahmad Khsha, 18, who was arrested in January 2024 in Jenin. “They arrested me because my brother died during a shootout in Jenin. After he died, they arrested me. They raided our cells on Saturday before releasing us and threw teargas at us. They tortured us in the cell, every day. They also tortured and mistreated the women.”
Osama Shadeh, who was waiting to be reunited with his 17-year-old daughter Aseel, said: “It’s hard to describe the emotion we’re feeling at this moment.
“My daughter was arrested on 7 November 2024 when she was protesting against the killing of Palestinian children in Gaza. She was waving a Palestinian flag. Israeli soldiers shot her in the foot and handcuffed her. They accused her of trying to stab the soldiers. The fact that she is being released now means that Israel knew that my daughter had done nothing wrong. Yet they kept a minor in jail for over a year.”
Khawlaha Mahfouz, 53, whose daughter Ayat, 33, from Hebron, was arrested in June 2024 for an attempted stabbing attack also expressed mixed feelings. “I’m happy, [but] at the same time, my heart is sad and I don’t feel ready to celebrate with all that is happening in Gaza.”
In Al Fawakeh square in Ramallah, hundreds of people chanted: “The people want the Al-Qassam Brigades,” referring to Hamas’ armed wing in Gaza. In the Palestinian Territories, the release of prisoners and the ceasefire was perceived as a victory for Hamas over Israel.
But in East Jerusalem, the homes of at least four prisoners in East Jerusalem were reportedly raided by Israeli security forces who seized flags and symbols associated with Palestine with soldiers explicitly warning relatives against speaking to the media.
The Israel Prison Service said on Friday that it would take measures to prevent any “public displays of joy” by families of Palestinian prisoners released in the deal.
On Sunday, three women held hostage by Hamas in tunnels beneath Gaza, Damari, 28, Romi Gonen, 24 and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were released and reunited with their mothers. Videos showed them in apparent good health though they are expected to spend a few days in hospital.
In one video Damari, who lost two fingers when she was shot the day she was abducted, smiled and hugged her mother as she held up a bandaged hand.
The first phase of the truce took effect following a three-hour delay during which Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded the Gaza Strip.
The last-minute blitz killed 13 people, Palestinian health authorities said. Israel claimed it had struck terrorists although Al Jazeera reported that at least two missiles hit a family travelling on a donkey cart as they tried to return home. The attack killed Ahmed al-Qidra and two of his seven children, the broadcaster reported.
Minutes after the truce began, the United Nations said the first trucks carrying desperately needed humanitarian aid had entered the Palestinian territory.
An Egyptian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said “260 trucks of aid and 16 of fuel” had moved into the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza and the Nitzana crossing between Egypt and Israel before entering Gaza.
Thousands of displaced Palestinians also set off across the landscape to return home. In the northern area of Jabalia, hundreds streamed down a sandy path, heading to an apocalyptic landscape piled with rubble and destroyed buildings.
“We are finally in our home. There is no home left, just rubble, but it’s our home,” said Rana Mohsen, 43, back in Jabalia.
There is no detailed plan in place to govern Gaza after the war, much less rebuild it. Nine in 10 homes have been destroyed as well as schools, hospitals, shops, mosques and cemeteries.
The World Health Organization said on Sunday it was ready to pour aid into the territory, but that it would need “systematic access” across the territory to do so. Until the truce, Israel had complete control over the volume and nature of aid allowed into Gaza, leaving it on the verge of famine several times.
Warning that the “health challenges ahead are immense”, the Geneva-based agency put the cost of rebuilding just the health system at “billions in investment”.
“Today the guns in Gaza have gone silent,” US President Joe Biden said on his last full day in office, welcoming a truce that had eluded US diplomacy for more than a year. “We’ve reached this point today because of the pressure Israel built on Hamas, backed by the United States.”
Under the first phase of the deal reached between Israel and Hamas, which is to last 42 days, the militant group has agreed to release 33 hostages including children, women (including female soldiers) and men aged over 50, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
In the second phase of the ceasefire deal, the remaining living hostages are due to be sent back and a corresponding ratio of Palestinian prisoners will be freed, and Israel will completely withdraw from the territory. The specifics are subject to further negotiations, which are due to start 16 days into the first phase.
The third phase will address the exchange of bodies of deceased hostages and Hamas members, and a reconstruction plan for Gaza will be launched. Arrangements for future governance of the strip remain hazy.
About 100 of the Palestinian prisoners slated for release are serving life sentences for violent attacks on Israelis; others were jailed for lesser offences, including social media posts, or held in administrative detention, which allows for the pre-emptive arrest of individuals based on undisclosed evidence.
According to a copy of the agreement seen by the Guardian, nine ill and wounded Israelis will be released in exchange for 110 Palestinians serving life sentences in Israeli jails.
About 180 prisoners will reportedly be deported to Turkey, Qatar and Algeria.
Men aged over 50 on the list of 33 hostages will be released in return for prisoners serving life sentences at a ratio of 1:3, and 1:27 for other sentences.
According to figures published by the Israeli NGO HaMoked, as of January 2025 there were 10,221 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. About 3,376 of them are held under administrative detention, while 1,886 are classified as “unlawful combatants”, which also allows detention without charge or trial. The Israel Defense Forces and Israeli government say the measures comply with international law.
Palestinians have long alleged that imprisonment is a key element of Israel’s 57-year-old occupation: various estimates suggest that up to 40% of Palestinian men have been arrested at least once in their lives.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
