Israel releases 183 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages held by Hamas

Israel freed 183 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday in exchange for three more hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Eli Sharabi, Ohad ben Ami and Or Levy are the three hostages that have been released by Hamas. Sharabi and Ben Ami were kidnapped from kibbutz Be’eri while Levy was captured while at the Nova music festival.

The Israel Prison Service said it released all 183 Palestinian prisoners due to be freed on Saturday. Prisoners at the Ofer prison were taken to the Judea and Samaria area of East Jerusalem while those at the Ktziot prison were released to Kerem Shalom.

Seven of the Palestinian prisoners had to be taken to hospital, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. It said that all the prisoners released on Sunday are in need of medical care due to the brutality they were subjected to while in captivity.

The hostage exchange is part of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. It was announced on 15 January and came into effect on 19 January.

The deal is being implemented in three phases. During the first phase, Hamas will release 33 hostages while Israel will free around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners. While the second phase is still being negotiated, it is expected to establish a permanent ceasefire with Israel making a full withdrawal from Gaza. The third phase will see all the dead bodies of hostages returned to Israel and the reconsutrction of Gaza will start.

Currently, Israel and Hamas are in phase one of the deal.