Hamas and Israel carried out a major captives-prisoners exchange on Monday under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar, Egypt, Turkiye, and the United States.
Hamas and Israel carried out a large captives-prisoners exchange on Monday as part of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar, Egypt, Turkiye, and the United States.
The exchange began in the morning with Hamas handing over the remaining 20 living Israeli captives. In return, Israel released 1,968 Palestinian detainees in the afternoon.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office, those freed included 1,718 people taken from Gaza since October 7, 2023, and 250 others serving life or lengthy sentences. The office added that 154 of those released were exiled to Egypt.
Scenes of joy filled Gaza and the occupied West Bank as families reunited with loved ones after years apart, many of whom bore the physical and emotional scars of Israel’s prisons.
In a statement, Hamas said the release reaffirmed its “commitment to fulfilling its obligations” and praised the mediators for “compelling the Zionist enemy to implement its commitments”.
“Throughout two years of genocide and destruction, Netanyahu and his army failed to free their prisoners by force, and were ultimately forced to submit to the resistance’s terms,” the group said.
“The Palestinian people will not rest until the last prisoner is freed from the jails of the new Nazis and the occupation is removed from our land and holy sites,” it added.
Hamas and Israel had agreed to the terms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire on October 9 following talks in Sharm El-Sheikh.
The phase covered the release of all remaining living and deceased Israeli captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees. The second phase is expected to focus on Gaza’s post-war governance.
The ceasefire brought an end to Israel’s war on Gaza, launched on October 7, 2023, which has killed at least 67,869 Palestinians, mostly women and children. The toll is expected to rise as civil defence teams continue to recover bodies from under the rubble.
The exchange took place as U.S. President Donald Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of their joint address to the Knesset.
In his remarks, Trump praised Arab and Muslim nations for their role in mediating the ceasefire, calling it “an incredible triumph for Israel and the world to have all of these nations working together as partners in peace.”
Trump is expected to join 20 senior officials and leaders, including Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, at the upcoming Gaza peace summit in Sharm El-Sheikh.
Trump praised Arab nations and the Muslim leaders during his speech at the Knesset.
“It’s an incredible triumph for Israel and the world to have all of these nations working together as partners in peace,” he said.
Trump is set to join 20 senior officials and leaders, including Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Sharm El-Sheikh for the joint Egypt-U.S. summit on Gaza.
