New group of freed Palestinian prisoners arrive in Gaza under ceasefire deal

By Mohamed Majed and Mohammad Sio

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – A new group of Palestinian prisoners released by Israel on Thursday arrived in the Gaza Strip under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

The freed prisoners, including women and children, were transferred by the Red Cross to Gaza via the Kerem Shalom (Karam Abu Salem) crossing, east of Rafah in southern Gaza, according to an Anadolu reporter.

They were later transported to the European Hospital in Khan Younis city for medical check-ups, he added.

Israel released 596 Palestinian prisoners overnight after Palestinian resistance group Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli captives under a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal.

The agreement has been in place since last month, pausing Israel’s destructive war on Gaza that has killed more than 48,360 people, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

So far, 25 Israeli captives and eight bodies have been returned from Gaza in exchange for over 1,100 Palestinian prisoners under the first phase of the Gaza deal.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.