Palestinian groups in Gaza say a total of 369 prisoners are expected to be released on Saturday in Israeli prisons.
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic jihad will be released by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic jihad in exchange for 369 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons as part of the Gaza ceasefire.
The prisoners of war, which will be released on Saturday, have been identified as US Israel Sagui Dekel Chen, Russia-Israel Alexander Sasha Torfanov and Argentina-Israel Air Horn.
The names of the Palestinians to be released have not been announced, but Israeli media reported that 333 will be arrested and sent back to the enclave in Gaza. It will be sent to Gaza or Egypt.
In Rafa city in the southern part of Gaza, Hani Mahmoud of Al Jazeera reported that Palestinians were closely following the announcement of the release.
“The news today is sending more optimism among people,” he said, noting his anxiety and concern over the past few days.
Reported from Amman, Jordan, Al Jazeera’s Noor Ode said the release of three prisoners would give more hope to other Israeli families whose relatives are still being held in Gaza.
“For now, the ceasefire is being held. There is some hope. And Palestinian families are waiting for a list of prisoners. The prisoners will be included tomorrow and will meet their loved ones.” Ode said Friday. “Another sigh of relief for mediators is radio silence from the Israeli government.”
To date, 21 prisoners of war, including 16 Israelis, have been released by Hamas since the ceasefire began on January 19th.
After the release of more prisoners, the ceasefire is expected to move to the second phase on March 1, but how that will progress is still unclear, Odeh pointed out.
At that stage, details have not yet been negotiated, but the release of Israeli soldiers is expected, she added.
Earlier this week, Hamas threatened to delay the next release of prisoners, citing violations of Israel’s ceasefire conditions. Israel said it was unable to fulfill its obligation to allow shipments of tents and shelter cargo to be placed in Gaza, among other suspected violations.
Israel, with the support of President Donald Trump, said it would resume the fight if the prisoners were not released as agreed, but did not comment on Hamas’ statement.
Hamas met with Egyptian officials in Cairo, contacted Qatar’s prime minister, brought in more shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment to clean up the vast amount of tiled bleaches in Gaza, and brought in more important equipment recently. He said there is a demand for this. In a statement, the mediator said it had pledged to “remove all hurdles.”
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