One of the most prominent Palestinian prisoners that will be released on the first day of the truce include Khalida Jarrar, a senior member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
The first phase of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel has come into effect on Sunday morning, following 15 months of history’s most televised genocide in the Gaza Strip.
The mediators—Qatar, Egypt and the United States—succeeded in reaching the deal between Hamas and Israel late last week after more than a year of stalled negotiations. The ceasefire deal is split into three phases, each lasting 42 days.
Israeli occupation forces continued attacking the Gaza Strip minutes into the beginning of the first phase, which was supposed to start at 8:30am Jerusalem local time, killing at least 19 people.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then announced 11:15am Jerusalem local time as the new timing for the deal.
Israel accused Hamas of delaying the deal by not presenting the names of the Israeli captives expected to be released in the first exchange. Hamas had said that “technical field reasons” were behind the delay while maintaining its commitment to the deal.
The Palestinian group then released the names of the three Israeli female captives: Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher. The captives are among 33 that will be released during the first phase, which also includes children, those aged above 50, as well as the sick and wounded.
“They are three Israeli citizens, one of whom is of Romanian nationality and the other of British nationality, and thus the ceasefire has begun,” Majed Al-Ansari, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, said on X.
As part of the agreement, Israel will release 95 Palestinian prisoners on the same day, with Egypt confirming that this is the first step in a broader deal that will see a total of 1,890 prisoners freed during the initial phase.
The last captives-prisoners exchange took place in November 2023 under a week-long truce mediated by Qatar and Egypt. The deal at the time resulted in the release of 109 captives in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners, mostly women and children.
Data obtained by Doha News from Ramallah-based Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association last November reveal that Israel has re-arrested 27 of those released since the deal expired.
Some of the most prominent Palestinians that will be released on the first day of the latest deal include Khalida Jarrar, the leading member of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Israel arrested Jarrar in December 2023 and has spent the past six months in solitary confinement. Jarrar was not allowed to attend the funeral of her daughter, Suha, who had passed away at the age of 30 in July 2021 from a heart attack.
Another key name on the list is Zakaria Zubeidi, the former Jenin commander of Fatah’s military wing, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
Zubeidi was among six prisoners who escaped from the Israeli Gilboa Prison in September 2021 by digging a tunnel using spoons. They were caught five days later.
More Palestinians will be released in the next stage, which will pave the way for the complete halt of Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip while creating a humanitarian catastrophe.
The figure is an undercount of the actual death toll with thousands missing and still trapped under the rubble.
A study published by The Lancet journal last week said the death toll is likely 40 percent higher than the figure shared by Palestine’s health authorities.