Israel frees 183 Palestinian prisoners amid ongoing Gaza ceasefire exchange

In a significant development in the Gaza conflict, Israel has released 183 Palestinian prisoners, including 18 serving life sentences and 54 with extended prison terms, as part of a continuing ceasefire agreement with Hamas. This exchange followed Hamas's earlier release of three Israeli captives.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club in Ramallah, 150 of the freed detainees were transferred to Gaza, with three buses arriving in Khan Younis. The remaining prisoners were released in the occupied West Bank, with some facing deportation from the territory.

Reports from the Palestinian Prisoner's Society indicated widespread mistreatment of the released prisoners. The organization documented unprecedented levels of torture among those detained after October 7. Hamas reported that the released prisoners required immediate medical attention and called for international intervention regarding alleged prisoner abuse.

Among those freed were 111 Palestinians detained in Gaza since October 7, 2023. A Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, emphasized that these detainees were not connected to the October 7 attack, which Hamas refers to as "Al-Aqsa Flood."

This prisoner swap, the fourth of its kind and second this week, saw Hamas release three Israeli captives - Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel, and Ofer Kalderon. The exchange occurred in Khan Younis and Gaza City under International Committee of the Red Cross supervision.

The release coincided with the reopening of the Rafah border crossing, enabling 50 sick and wounded Palestinians to seek medical treatment in Egypt - the first such evacuation in nearly nine months.

Human Rights Watch program director Sari Bashi criticized the necessity of such negotiations, arguing that Gaza detainees held without trial should have been released immediately.

The current phase of the ceasefire agreement is expected to facilitate the release of 33 Israeli captives in exchange for approximately 1,900 Palestinian prisoners. Negotiations for the next phase are scheduled to begin Monday.