90 Palestinian prisoners freed; Hamas releases 3 hostages in Gaza

Kathmandu: Ninety Palestinian prisoners have been released as part of the first phase of a long-awaited ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

The BBC cited Hamas as saying the Palestinians freed from Israeli prisons include 69 women and 21 teenage boys from the West Bank and Jerusalem.

According to the Reuters news agency, most of the people released today were recently detained and not tried or convicted.

Over the first phase of the truce, Israel is expected to release about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, while Hamas is expected to release some 33 Israeli hostages.

Earlier, on Sunday, three Israeli hostages were released by Hamas to the Red Cross in Gaza City hours after a ceasefire began, before being handed to the Israeli military.

The women released by Hamas – 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, dual British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, and Romi Gonen, 24 – are being treated in a Tel Aviv hospital, and are in stable condition.

Emily was seen with bandages over two missing fingers, hugging her mother, in a video call shared with the BBC’s Lucy Manning
Hamas says for every hostage released, 30 Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli jails.

The ceasefire in Gaza came into force after a last-minute delay, but joy faded as Palestinians returned to their destroyed homes.