WEST BANK (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Palestinian resistance in Gaza handed over the bodies of four Israeli captives to the Red Cross early Thursday simultaneously in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, days before the first phase of the ceasefire agreement expires.
According to the Hebrew media, the Hamas Movement handed the captives’ bodies to the Red Cross. Israel said the caskets were delivered with the help of Egyptian mediators through an Israeli crossing.
At around the same time, a Red Cross convoy carrying dozens of released Palestinian prisoners left the Israeli Ofer prison and headed for the West Bank town of Beitunia, where hundreds of well-wishers jostled for a glimpse of the bus as it arrived.
Friends and families greeted the released prisoners, hugging them and snapping photos. The released prisoners wore Israeli prison service T-shirts containing racist slurs, but they started taking them off and setting them on fire.
Hours later, buses carrying hundreds of other Palestinian prisoners arrived in the Gaza city of Khan Yunis, with some men kissing the ground as they emerged from the buses. According to Al Jazeera satellite channel, 456 prisoners arrived in Gaza.
Earlier, the Israeli occupation authority released 42 prisoners to the West Bank and deported 97 others to Egypt.
However, the Asra Media Office said earlier that a seventh group of 642 Palestinian prisoners, including 457 from Gaza and 46 women and children, are slated for release at dawn hours.
Asra Media added that 42 prisoners, including 151 serving life and long sentences, will also be released to the West Bank and east Jerusalem and 97 others will be deported to Egypt.
In this regard, the Hamas Movement reaffirmed that “the only way for the release of Israeli captives is through negotiation and the Israeli government’s respect for what has been agreed upon.”
Following the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners today, Hamas reiterated its full commitment to the provisions of the ceasefire agreement and its readiness to engage in talks over the second phase of the deal.
The Movement warned any attempt by Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and his government to backtrack on the agreement or obstruct its implementation would only lead to more suffering for the captives and their families.
