Gaza: Ninety Palestinian prisoners released

 Monday, January 20, 2025

ISLAMABAD (Point Today News / Pakistan Point News - 20th Jan, 2025 ) According to Hamas, most of the ninety Palestinian prisoners released on Monday are women and children. According to reports, the Palestinians released from Israeli prisons include 69 women and 21 teenage boys from the West Bank and Jerusalem. The released people include Khaleda Jarrar, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Three women among the Israeli hostages held by Hamas freed after ceasefire

According to Reuters, most of those released today were recently detained and have not been tried or sentenced.

During the first phase of the ceasefire, Israel is expected to release about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, while Hamas is expected to release about 33 Israeli hostages.

Hamas says 30 Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli prisons for every Israeli hostage released.

Khalida Jarrar among those released

According to several media outlets, including the Associated Press, Palestinian politician Khalida Jarrar is among those released.

Who are the most prominent Palestinians held in Israeli prisons?

Jarrar is a leading leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Israel, the United States and the European Union have designated the group a "terrorist organization."

Jarrar has been in and out of prison for much of the past decade, having previously been convicted on charges including incitement. Khalida Jarrar's relatives welcomed her.

'Waiting for release was very difficult'

The Palestinians who were released said that the wait for release was very difficult.

One of the first Palestinian prisoners to be released told AFP that their journey to freedom began at 3pm on Sunday, when they were taken from the prison and transferred to a location near the Israel-Gaza barrier.

Palestinian journalist Bushra al-Tawil said she had heard from other prisoners that she would be released. Bushra al-Tawil was imprisoned in March 2024.

“The lawyers told her that the (ceasefire) deal had been announced and was in the implementation phase,” she said. But it was “very difficult to wait. But thank God, we were sure that we would be released at any moment.”

She added that “she worries about her father, who is still in Israeli prison.”

Although she said she had received news that her father would also be released later as part of the ceasefire agreement.

Meeting health needs a challenging task, WHO

Welcoming the ceasefire agreement, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that meeting the “massive health needs” of the people of Gaza will be a “complex and challenging task”.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the start of the process of releasing hostages and prisoners “is a great hope for the millions of people whose lives have been shattered by the conflict.”

He said that this is the moment I have been waiting for and appealing for.

However, he added that “given the scale of the devastation in Gaza, the operational complexity and other constraints, meeting the massive health needs and rebuilding the health system will be a complex and challenging task.”

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Meanwhile, the United Nations says more than 630 aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday.