Tears, hugs greet 90 Palestinian women, children freed from Israeli prisons

Jubilant crowds of relatives, friends and good wishers gathered successful the occupied West Bank to observe the merchandise of 90 Palestinian prisoners.

Ninety Palestinians person been freed from Israeli prisons and were greeted by ample crowds of jubilant relatives, friends and supporters arsenic they returned location to the occupied West Bank successful the archetypal captive speech of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire pursuing the merchandise of three Israeli captives successful Gaza.

At astir 1am section clip connected Monday (23:00 GMT), Red Cross buses carrying the 90 Palestinian prisoners arrived successful Ramallah successful the occupied West Bank, wherever they were greeted by crowds of thousands contempt warnings from Israeli forces that celebrations would not beryllium allowed.

The freed Palestinians included 69 women and 21 teenage boys – immoderate arsenic young arsenic 12 – from the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

Among them was Khalida Jarrar, 62, a starring subordinate of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who had been held for six months successful solitary confinement nether “administrative detention”, which allows Israeli authorities to jailhouse suspects indefinitely without complaint oregon tribunal verdict.

Freed Palestinian prisoners wrong a Red Cross autobus arsenic they get successful Ramallah, successful the occupied West Bank, connected January 20, 2025 [Mussa Qawasma/Reuters]

In the occupied West Bank metropolis of Ramallah, crowds lifted galore of the returned prisoners up onto their shoulders successful an affectional amusement of support, arsenic others shouted and whistled. Some attending the gathering carried the flags of Fatah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and different equipped absorption groups.

Seven hours earlier, 3 Israeli women captives successful their mid-20s to aboriginal 30s were released successful Gaza.

Bushra al-Tawil, a Palestinian writer jailed successful Israel successful March 2024, was besides among the prisoners released connected Monday.

Tawil said she began her travel astatine 3am connected Sunday greeting (01:00 GMT), erstwhile she was taken from different Israeli situation up of release. In the 2nd prison, she was grouped with different Palestinians awaiting release.

“The hold was highly hard. But convey God, we were definite that astatine immoderate infinitesimal we would beryllium released,” she said.

Tawil said her father, who is besides successful an Israeli jail, volition beryllium released soon, too.

“I was disquieted astir him. He is inactive a prisoner, but I conscionable received bully quality that helium volition beryllium released arsenic portion of this deal,” she added.

A freed Palestinian captive poses for a photograph aft being released from an Israeli jailhouse connected January 20, 2025 [Ammar Awad/Reuters]

Amanda Abu Sharkh, 23, from Ramallah, was among the assemblage of hundreds who gathered to greet the freed prisoners.

“We came present to witnesser it and consciousness the emotions, conscionable similar the families of the prisoners who are being released today,” Abu Sharkh said.

“All the prisoners being released contiguous consciousness similar household to us. They are portion of us, adjacent if they’re not humor relatives,” she told the AFP quality agency.

Muhammad, 20, said helium had travel from Ramallah with his friends arsenic soon arsenic helium heard the prisoners would beryllium released.

Recently freed from Israel’s Ofer Prison himself, helium expressed “great joy” astatine the thought of families being reunited.

“I cognize a batch of radical successful prison, determination are guiltless people, children and women,” helium said.

The captive speech betwixt Hamas and Israel marks the archetypal of its benignant since November 2023.

The nonstop fig of Palestinians owed to beryllium released arsenic portion of the ceasefire woody is inactive unknown, with reported estimates ranging from astir 1,000 to astir 2,000.

In the archetypal signifier of the deal, Hamas is expected to instrumentality a full of 33 Israeli captives implicit the adjacent 42 days – with the adjacent merchandise owed connected Saturday.

The 2nd signifier of ceasefire negotiations is owed to statesman successful 2 weeks.

More than 46,000 Palestinians person been killed since the warfare began connected October 7, and astir 90 percent of Gaza’s colonisation has been forcibly displaced by Israeli evacuation orders and attacks.

Source

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies