E-Paper
Sign In
New swap: Israel to free 183 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 3 hostages
So far, 13 Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners have been released in the first, 42-day phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement
- PUBLISHED: Fri 7 Feb 2025, 10:34 PM
- By:
- Agencies
- Share:
Israel will free 183 inmates from jails on Saturday in the fifth hostage-prisoner swap agreed with Hamas as part of an ongoing Gaza ceasefire deal, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group.
"Among those to be released are 18 serving life sentences, 54 with lengthy sentences, and 111 from Gaza who were arrested after October 7," Amani Sarahneh, spokeswoman for the Palestinian NGO, told AFP, referring to Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel in 2023 which started the Gaza war.
Recommended For You
In return, Hamas announced the names of three Israeli hostages to be released on Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners after a delay that underlined the obstacles hanging over a fragile deal meant to end the war in Gaza.
Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
Ohad Ben Ami and Eli Sharabi, both taken hostage from Kibbutz Be'eri during the cross-border Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, and Or Levy, taken that day from the Nova music festival, will be handed over on Saturday, Hamas said.
Earlier, the Palestinian group accused Israel of breaching their ceasefire accord and held off announcing the names of the three Israelis until a 4pm (1400 GMT) deadline had passed.
Hamas accused Israel of delaying the entry of hundreds of trucks carrying food and other humanitarian supplies agreed under the truce deal that took effect on January 19, and holding back all but a fraction of the tents and mobile homes needed to provide shelter to people returning to their bombed-out homes.
"This demonstrates clear manipulation of relief and shelter priorities," Hamas said in a statement.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency that is overseeing the aid deliveries into Gaza, denied the accusation and warned that Israel would "not tolerate violations by Hamas".
The spat compounds the uncertainty around the ceasefire that had already mounted following US President Donald Trump's surprise announcement this week that he expected Gaza to be taken over by the United States.
Trump said on Tuesday he wanted to move the population of Gaza to a third country like Egypt or Jordan and place the small coastal enclave under U.S. control to be developed into the "Riviera of the Middle East".
"We're in no rush on it," Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday, referring to his Gaza plan.
Still, it underlined the fragility of the deal reached last month with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and backed by the US.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed Trump's vision for Gaza as a "remarkable" plan, but it was immediately rejected by Arab countries, Palestinian groups including Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, and many Gazans, who said they would rebuild their homes and restaurants themselves.
So far, 13 Israeli hostages of the 33 children, women and older men set to be released in the first, 42-day phase of the agreement have come home, and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been released in exchange. Five Thai hostages have also been returned.
Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 as hostages in Israel's heaviest loss of life in a single day since the founding of the state in 1948.
In response, Israel launched an air and ground war in Gaza that has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated the narrow enclave.
ALSO READ:
Gaza ceasefire: Israel, Hamas set for fifth hostage-prisoner exchange on Saturday
Over 10,000 aid trucks have entered Gaza since ceasefire: UN
Israel commits to new Gaza talks ahead of Trump meeting