Numerous notorious Hamas fighters slated to be let go, alongside 445 Palestinians detained in Gaza after October 7; longest-serving inmate to be deported
ed note–we’ll forgo the usual extended commentary in lieu of something short and to-the point–
‘You must destroy them totally…Make no treaty with them, show them no mercy and do not save alive anything that breathes, for you are a people holy to the Lord your God who has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession…’ –Book of Deuteronomy
Times of Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Sunday that Israel would not release Palestinian security prisoners who had been slated to go free on Saturday until Hamas provided guarantees that it would end ‘demeaning’ ceremonies it has held to mark the transfer of Israeli hostages.
Israel was expected to free a total of 602 Palestinian prisoners as part of the seventh hostage-prisoner exchange, but announced Saturday that it was delaying the release after Hamas completed the handover of six Israeli hostages.
Israeli officials said it would release the prisoners only after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finishes security consultations regarding the return of the remaining Israeli hostages.
Hamas criticized Israel for the ongoing delay, accusing it of breaching the ceasefire deal and called on mediators to pressure Israel to ‘respect the ceasefire agreement and implement its provisions without stalling.’
Nearly 100 ex-inmates are slated for deportation upon their release. An additional 11 prisoners detained before the war’s outset will be sent to Gaza, while 43 will return to their homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Of those freed, 445 are to be released back into the Gaza Strip after having been detained there following October 7.
Twenty-three minors and one woman detained in the Strip were also set to be released in exchange for the bodies of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, according to Haaretz.
Of the security prisoners to be released, 95 were Hamas members, 40 were affiliated with Fatah and 16 with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Four were identified with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, according to Al Jazeera.
After several erroneous lists circulated on social media, Hamas’s prisoners’ media office and the Palestinian Prisoners Club published the names sent to them by Israeli authorities.