bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Two buses carrying Palestinian prisoners released in the Gaza ceasefire deal had to inch through a thick crowd when they at last arrived in the West Bank at 2am Monday.
After the doors opened, women hugged their relatives and cried tears of joy while throngs of people chanted, waved flags and climbed atop the vehicles. Others lit fireworks in the normally quiet suburb of Beitunia.
Bushra al-Tawil, a Palestinian journalist jailed in Israel in March 2024, was among the first batch of prisoners to be released in the truce.
Over the next 42 days, around 1,900 Palestinians are due to be freed in exchange for 33 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Tawil began her journey at 3am the day before, when she was taken from her prison to another nearer the separation wall. There, she was grouped with other inmates awaiting movement.
“The wait was extremely hard. But thank God, we were certain that at any moment we would be released,” she said.
Tawil had only learned she would be freed from other inmates who had attended a hearing.
“The lawyers told them the (ceasefire) deal had been announced and was in the implementation phase,” said Tawil, whose father is also in an Israeli jail.
“I was worried about him. He is still a prisoner, but I just received good news that he will be released as part of this deal.”
A crowd of hundreds of Palestinians pressed around Tawil and the 89 other prisoners released in exchange for three Israeli hostages held in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

Many in the crowd had gathered earlier on a hill in Beitunia for a view of Israel’s Ofer prison, from where the prisoners were being released.
“We came here to witness it and feel the emotions, just like the families of the prisoners who are being released today,” said Amanda Abu Sharkh, 23, from the nearby city of Ramallah.
“All the prisoners being released today feel like family to us. They are part of us, even if they’re not blood relatives,” she said.
As night fell and the wait continued in the cold, dozens of small fires illuminated the stony hill.
Excitement grew when news broke that the three Israeli hostages had been released.
Muhammad, 20, said he had come from Ramallah with his friends as soon as he heard the development.


Recently released from Ofer prison himself, he expressed “great joy” at the thought of families being reunited.
“I know a lot of people in prison, there are innocent people, children and women,” he said.
The prisoners set to be released during the initial 42-day ceasefire period include many held under administrative detention, which does not require formal charges.
Others are serving life sentences for attacks that killed Israelis.
Farther in Beitunia, even bigger crowds gathered at the roundabout where the prisoners were eventually dropped off, waving Palestinian and Hamas flags, chanting slogans and filling the streets in anticipation.
An 18-year-old woman could barely contain her joy as she awaited her mother’s release.

“I’ll hug her right away – of course, I’ll hug her. At first, it’ll just be tears of joy,” she said.
“After that, she’ll tell us about her time in prison, and we’ll tell her about our lives without her. I’m sure there will be a lot of crying,” she said as she stood by her brother, sister and aunt.
Her mother, a doctor, had been arrested in January 2024 in the north of the occupied West Bank for social media activity, she said.
“They accused her of incitement because of posts she wrote on Facebook,” she said, calling the charges “ridiculous” for a middle-aged nurse and trained midwife.
Nearby, Oday waited with his family.
Though he had been freed after being arrested with his son at the start of the war, his son remains detained and is not on the initial release list.
Oday, who preferred not to give his last name for fear of jeopardising his son’s release, said his son had been arrested for social media activity.
But he said he wanted to celebrate all the releases on Sunday night because he knows what captivity is like.
“You can’t think for yourself and for your son only,” he said, adding he was happy hostages were being released from Gaza as well.


After 15 months of war, Hamas still rules over what remains of Gaza

Palestinian president Abbas ‘ready to work’ with Trump on two-state solution

Hamas says next Gaza hostages will be released on Saturday as scheduled

Israel-Hamas truce in Gaza holding after first hostage-prisoner swap

Israel-Gaza war

Gaza ceasefire: late night tears and hugs for released Palestinian prisoners

Scenes in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as freed Palestinians arrive by bus. Photo: Reuters

Palestinian prisoners set free by Israel celebrate upon their arrival in the occupied West Bank town of Beitunia. Photo: AFP

Palestinian prisoner Baraah Fuqaha (right) being welcomed by relatives. Photo: AFP

The uncle of 17-year-old Palestinian prisoner Qassem Jaafra kisses his forehead. Photo: AFP

Hamas frees hostages, Israel releases Palestinian prisoners as Gaza ceasefire begins

Released British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari embraces her mother, Mandy. Photo: Israel Defence Forces via Reuters

People gather around a bus carrying freed Palestinian prisoners after their release, near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Photo: Reuters

Hostages Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari return to Israel. Photo: Reuters

Fighters from the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, control a crowd as Red Cross vehicles come to collect Israeli hostages to be released. Photo: AP

Who are the 3 Israelis released on the first day of the Gaza ceasefire?

Romi Gonen steps out of a van next to her mother Merav, left, before boarding a helicopter. Photo: AP

Romi Gonen and family members. Photo: GPO via AFP

Emily Damari with her mother Amanda. Photo: Israeli Army via AFP

Doron Steinbracher with her mother Simone. Photo: Israeli Army via AFP

News

World

Middle East

Israel releases 90 Palestinian prisoners after Hamas frees three Israeli hostages in Gaza ceasefire deal


Israel releases 90 Palestinian prisoners after Hamas frees three Israeli hostages in Gaza ceasefire deal.


Israel

War and conflict