2nd batch of 200 Palestinian prisoners set free under Gaza ceasefire deal

A second batch of 200 Palestinian prisoners was released on Saturday under a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel.

Televised footage showed the arrival of 114 prisoners to the West Bank city of Ramallah from the Ofer Military Prison aboard three International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) buses.

The freed prisoners were welcomed by thousands of Palestinians who gathered in Ramallah to celebrate their release, according to an Anadolu reporter.

Sixteen prisoners, accompanied by Red Cross representatives, also arrived at the European Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, to the warm welcome of thousands.

Egypt’s state-affiliated Al-Qahera News channel also reported that two buses carrying 70 freed Palestinian prisoners arrived in Egypt under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The Prisoners’ Media Office said early Saturday that the freed prisoners include 121 who had been serving life sentences and 79 with lengthy sentences.

It added that 70 of those serving life sentences will be sent outside the Palestinian territories.

According to the statement, the freed prisoners include 137 from Palestinian resistance group Hamas, 26 from the Fatah group, 29 from Islamic Jihad, three from the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and one from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, in addition to four others without any party affiliation.

The list includes Mohammed al-Tous, the longest-serving Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Tous, from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, was arrested in 1985 and sentenced to life in prison on accusations of carrying out attacks against Israeli targets.

The second batch of Palestinian prisoners set off from Israel’s Ketziot Prison in the Negev desert in southern Israel.

Related World News

Israeli army expands military operation in northern West Bank

RAMALLAH:The Israeli army today expanded its military operation in the city of Tulkarem after Jenin,according to Anadolu News Agency. The report said that Israeli forces began attacking Tulkarem and its two refugee camps, Nur Shams and Tulkarem and turning them into military barracks.After the....

UN peacekeeping head thanks India, other troop-contributing nations for Congo operation

UN Peacekeeping head Jean-Pierre Lacroix has thanked India and other countries contributing troops to the UN operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where three peacekeepers were killed last week. Rebels of the March 23 Movement (M23) took control of the city ‘Goma’ in....

5.5 magnitude quake hits northern Chile

A 5.5 magnitude earthquake rocked northern Chile on Friday, with no reports of casualties and property damage, local authorities said. The National Seismological Center of the University of Chile reported that the quake occurred at 1:19 p.m. local time (1619 GMT), 17.9 km northeast....

Israel threatens to prevent displaced Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza after soldiers’ release

As per Anadolu report,Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has allegedly threatened today to prevent displaced Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating a ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement. In a statement, Netanyahu’s office claimed that Hamas vio....

Russian passenger plane overruns runway, all on board unharmed

An An-24 passenger plane overran the runway during takeoff in Russia's Khabarovsk Territory, but all 23 people on board were unharmed, TASS news agency reported on Saturday. According to local emergency services, the aircraft was departing from the settlement of Nelkan when it failed to ....