Israel and Palestine exchange prisoners

Hamas announced on Monday the release of 20 living Israeli prisoners as part of the first phase of the prisoner exchange deal reached with Israel, dubbed the “Al-Aqsa Flood Deal.”

The movement said in an official statement monitored by the Canary:

As part of the Al-Aqsa Flood prisoner exchange deal, we have decided to release 20 living Israeli prisoners.

This comes within the context of the temporary ceasefire agreement between the two sides, which includes a prisoner exchange and a humanitarian truce. According to Israel’s Channel 12, the International Red Cross has so far received seven Israeli prisoners held in the Gaza Strip. They are: Matan Angrist, Gali Berman, Zeev Berman, Alon Ohl, Eitan Horn, Guy Gilboa Dalal, and Omri Miran.

Reuters reported that the majority of the Israeli prisoners to be released by the Qassam Brigades were captured during the October 7, 2023, attack, while attending a Nova concert near the settlement of Re’im in southern Israel. Meanwhile, the newspaper Israel Hayom reported, citing a security source, that the Israeli army began preparations this morning to transfer Palestinian prisoners from the northern Gaza Strip. Channel 24 reported that the Israeli Prison Service had completed final preparations for the release of the prisoners, in accordance with the agreement.

Israeli prisoners make calls to families

And, in a remarkable and unprecedented development in the history of prisoner exchanges between the Palestinians and Israel, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, allowed Israeli prisoners held in the Gaza Strip to make direct phone calls to their families prior to their release.

The newspaper reported that a number of families received phone calls from their captive relatives, in coordination with the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, which oversaw the handover process.

These phone calls represent an unprecedented humanitarian step in such deals, which are usually carried out in complete secrecy and without any direct contact between the prisoners and their families until the moment of handover.

Commenting on this move, Israeli military analyst Yaron Avraham said:

Hamas had detailed maps of Israeli army bases and positions, so what’s so strange about it also having the phone numbers of soldiers’ families?

He added that this reflects:

the advanced intelligence capabilities possessed by the resistance inside Gaza.

List for Palestinian prisoners set for release expanded

In a notable development, the Israeli government approved, during an emergency telephone vote, an amendment to the list of Palestinian prisoners to be included in the release. The official Kan Broadcasting Corporation reported that the amendment included the addition of five Palestinian prisoners to the list, to be released if there is any shortage in the number of released Gazan prisoners. Among the prominent names on the reserve list is Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, who was arrested by Israeli forces from inside the hospital last December.

Reuters reported, citing an official source, that 1,966 Palestinian prisoners included in the agreement had boarded buses in preparation for their release. They are distributed as follows:

1,716 prisoners from the Gaza Strip will be released at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis.
250 prisoners from the West Bank and Jerusalem, including several who were serving life sentences, will be transported to their destinations, either within the Palestinian territories or abroad.

Future of the deal

The deal is viewed as a political and moral victory for the Palestinian resistance, following the failure of Israel’s military attempts to recover its prisoners through months of intensive ground and air operations, which claimed the lives of thousands of Palestinians, including a large number of civilians.

Meanwhile, international efforts continue to complete the next phases of the truce agreement, which includes additional field and humanitarian arrangements, amid warnings of the agreement’s collapse if Israel does not adhere to all of its terms, most notably halting its aggression against the Gaza Strip and improving the humanitarian conditions of its residents.

Featured image via the Canary