UPDATE 2 - Israel frees hundreds of Palestinian prisoners under Gaza ceasefire deal

UPDATES WITH DETAILS, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK

By Betul Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners on Monday under a Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The Hamas-run Prisoners’ Media Office said buses carrying freed prisoners from Ofer Prison, west of Ramallah, arrived in the town of Beitunia in the occupied West Bank.

The official news agency Wafa confirmed that 96 prisoners serving high jail terms arrived in the town aboard two buses of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The Prisoners’ Media Office also said that 154 freed prisoners were deported to Egypt under the ceasefire deal.

It said buses carrying around 1,700 prisoners released from the Negev Prison in southern Israel also arrived in the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli military spokesperson confirmed to The Times of Israel news website that all Palestinian prisoners set for release were freed under the Gaza deal.

The releases came after Hamas handed over 20 living Israeli hostages under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect on Friday under US President Donald Trump’s plan to end a two-year Israeli war on the enclave.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed more than 67,800 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, leaving the enclave largely uninhabitable.