Israel receives list of 90 Palestinian prisoners to be released in hostage swap

A list of 90 Palestinian prisoners has been handed over to the Israel Prison Service.

Those Palestinian prisoners will be released in exchange for three hostages held by Hamas as part of a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

After completing several formalities, the prisoners will be transferred to the Ofer prison in Israel, located near Ramallah in the West Bank, where representatives from the Red Cross will be waiting for them. 

They will remain there until further instructions from Israel's political leadership. On January 19, the leadership of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement, announced that it would release three hostages as part of an exchange deal. Hamas plans to release Israeli hostages on Saturdays.

The Hamas militant group provided Israel with the names of three female hostages to be released later in the day, allowing a ceasefire to take effect after a brief delay on January 19. This move silenced the weapons in Gaza and marked the first hostage swap since late November 2023. The families of Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, confirmed their release in the afternoon.

Despite this, 94 individuals, who were kidnapped during the October 7, 2023, attack, remain in captivity, along with three others who have been held for about ten years. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed receiving the names from Hamas on January 19. Israel has announced the introduction of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on January 19 at 11:15 (GMT+2). 

The ceasefire took effect after Hamas sent a list of three hostages to be released on January 19. The first phase of the ceasefire was scheduled to begin at 8:30 (GMT+2) on January 19 but was delayed after Hamas sent the list of three female hostages later than expected. For the past two hours, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have continued striking terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip. According to the terms of the ceasefire, Israel is expected to receive 33 hostages from Hamas during 42 days. 

The hostages include children, female soldiers, as well as civilians and men older 50. In return, Israel will release 50 Palestinians for each female soldier and 30 Palestinians for each civilian. Following this, Israel will also release all women and minors under the age of 19 who have been detained in the Gaza Strip during nearly a year and a half of military operations. Unarmed Palestinians will be allowed to return to the northern part of the enclave. Furthermore, 600 trucks carrying humanitarian aid will be allowed to enter Gaza daily.

By Naila Huseynova