Hundreds of freed Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been welcomed with tears and screams of joy as they were released by Israel to be reunited with their families in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The release involved about 250 prisoners who had been found guilty of crimes including murder and deadly attacks against Israelis, and about 1,700 detainees from Gaza who had been held by Israel without charge.
According to BBC, as prisoners got off a Red Cross bus in Ramallah, many wearing traditional Keffiyeh scarves, they looked pale and thin, with some finding it hard to walk. They were freed as part of an exchange in which 20 Israeli hostages were released by Hamas, with the remains of some dead hostages also expected to be released.
Amro Abdullah, 24, was waiting for his cousin Rashid Omar, 48, who was arrested in July 2005 and given a life sentence by an Israeli court after being found guilty of murder and other crimes. Abdullah talked about his hopes for the future, saying, “I want peace. I want to live a happy life, safe and peaceful, without occupation and without restrictions.”
Families Gather For Emotional Reunions
About 100 prisoners were released into the West Bank, with many others set to be sent away and a small number freed into East Jerusalem. Israel made clear before the release that it wanted to avoid the happy scenes that happened when prisoners arrived in Ramallah during earlier hostage deals, when large crowds waved Hamas flags.
In Gaza, families gathered at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis hoping to be reunited with their loved ones. A field hospital next to the main hospital building was set up to receive them. Muhammad Hasan Saeed Dawood, 50, who was there to collect his son, called the moment “a very beautiful feeling” and said it was “a national holiday.”
Before the release in Ramallah, ambulances from the Palestine Red Crescent Society set up ready to treat any injured prisoners. Many medics and family members said the prisoners who were released in Ramallah had been beaten in recent days before their release. Aya Shreiteh, 26, from the Palestinian Prisoners Club said “their rights were violated in the most serious ways.”
The hostage and prisoner exchange was part of phase one of Donald Trump’s peace plan aimed at ending the war in Gaza, which started after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel. A ceasefire began on Friday, and talks are now expected to follow over the next phases of Trump’s peace plan.
Published: Oct 13, 2025 01:52 pm