Israeli prison (Reuters)
As the temporary truce comes into force, 39 Palestinian prisoners – 24 women and 15 children – in the occupied West Bank are preparing to be released from Israeli prisons, compared to 13 prisoners scheduled to be released by Hamas from the Gaza Strip.
A video clip showed a Red Cross bus preparing to transport Palestinian prisoners from Israel’s Ofer prison in the West Bank as part of the deal’s arrangements.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government said it will begin handing over detainees to Hamas on Friday.
In the same context, an American official said that, according to CNN, 3 Americans should appear on the Hamas list of those released.
In turn, Qaddoura Fares, the Palestinian commissioner for prisoner affairs, explained that Israel will hand over the prisoners, all from the occupied West Bank or Jerusalem, to the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Israeli military prison of Ofer at around 4pm: 00 local time (1400 GMT).
13 women and children
This coincides with the surrender of 13 women and children at the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. They are among around 240 people detained by Hamas after the bloody attack on southern Israel on 7 October.
Fares said: “The Red Cross should welcome the male and female (Palestinian) prisoners released from Ofer prison camp. Prisoners from Jerusalem will be taken directly to Jerusalem, and prisoners from the West Bank will be transferred from Ofer camp to the prison camp of Ofer. Municipality of Beitunia, where their families will be waiting for them, and the agreement is that every prisoner, male and female, will return. To their home.”
Solid truce
The release of the prisoners is part of the agreement between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire, which began at 7am local time (0500 GMT) and appears to be holding quite well, with few reports of shelling, artillery fire or rocket attacks. .
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