Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for four hostages held by Hamas group members since the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered a war in the region.
More than half of the 200 released had been serving life sentences in Israeli jails – some were convicted of multiple murders, including the killing of Israeli civilians. Others were never charged with a crime, reported BBC.
According to reports, around 70 of the serious offenders were deported to Qatar and Turkey via Egypt.
A smaller number will be sent to Gaza. The rest – just over 120 – will be allowed to return to their homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the British media reported.
“After the conclusion of the necessary activities in the prisons and the approval of political authorities, all the terrorists were released from the Ofer and Ktziot prisons,” the Israel Prison Service said in a statement as quoted by BBC.
The youngest prisoner released by Israel was aged 16.
This was the second exchange of prisoners and hostages ever since the Gaza ceasefire began on January 19.
In the first round of the swap, three Israeli hostages were exchanged for 90 Palestinian prisoners.
Israel-Hamas War
Israel launched its campaign in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attack, when militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, more than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to health authorities there.
Israel has lost more than 400 soldiers in Gaza combat.
Hamas has not disclosed the number of fighters it has lost.
Israel estimates that more than a third of Gaza’s death toll is militants.
(With inputs from IBNS)
