Hamas: Israel to release over 2,000 prisoners under Gaza truce deal

More than 2,000 Palestinians, including 250 serving life sentences, are to be released from Israeli prisons under the terms of a new agreement aimed at resolving the conflict in the Gaza Strip, Hamas announced.

According to the Maan news agency, a Hamas spokesperson said that “the agreement provides for the release of around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 250 sentenced to life imprisonment and 1,700 others arrested during the ongoing war.”

The announcement follows the implementation of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that came into effect in the Gaza Strip on October 9. The truce marks the first stage of a peace initiative brokered by the United States, designed to end months of hostilities and lay the foundation for a broader, long-term settlement.

Under the terms of the deal, Hamas will release the remaining Israeli hostages within 72 hours, while the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are expected to begin a partial withdrawal from Gaza within 24 hours. The agreement also includes provisions for the release of Palestinian prisoners and the repositioning of Israeli troops to pre-determined locations.

US President Donald Trump welcomed the breakthrough in comments to Fox News, saying that the first group of Israeli hostages is expected to be freed on October 13. However, he did not address several unresolved points of the accord, including the question of Hamas’s disarmament and the future governance structure of Gaza.

By Tamilla Hasanova