The prison service Israel confirmed that it has released the second batch of 39 Palestinian prisoners agreed upon today, in exchange for the release by Hamas of 13 Israeli hostages, after hours of delay in this exchange.
“The penitentiary service concludes the second phase of release of prisoners, as part of the plan for the return home of the kidnapped people. During the night, 39 security prisoners were released,” the agency said shortly after Israel confirmed that the hostages – 13 Israelis and 4 Thais – were already in Israeli territory.
Israel gathered the 39 prisoners released this morning in the Ofer prison, near Jerusalem, to be released once the hostages were in Israel, and handed over to the Red Crosswhich transferred them to the town of Beitunia, in the occupied West Bank.
This image taken from AFPTV video on November 25, 2023 shows an International Red Cross vehicle carrying hostages released by Hamas. (Photo by Belal Al SABBAGH / AFPTV / AFP).
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In total there are 6 women and 33 adolescents, who have been accused of terrorism, but without blood crimes.
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“The penitentiary service will continue in the coming days to execute the plan for the release of prisoners within the framework of the operation to return those kidnapped to their homes,” he indicated.
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This undated and location-free photograph released today, Nov. 25, 2023, by Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shows a Thai official (C) posing for a group photo with 10 Thai hostages released in Israel. Photo by Handout / THAILAND’S MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS / AFP
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Hamas He delayed the handover of a second batch of hostages, scheduled for 14:00 GMT, and accused Israel of violating the terms of the agreement they reached regarding the entry of humanitarian aid and the release of Palestinian prisoners with more seniority in prisons.
After several hours of silence following that Hamas announcement, the Israeli Government reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu carried out this afternoon “an assessment of the situation with all security elements to verify that the second phase is progressing as planned.” ”.
Hamas accused Israel of “manipulating” the list of prisoners to be released and not fulfilling the commitment to first release the eight women who were serving the longest sentences, all imprisoned since 2015.
Israel yesterday released only two of them, Rawan Abu Ziyada and Marah Bakir – imprisoned at only 15 years -, but finally today’s list includes the other six prisoners who have already served more than eight years in prison: Nourhan Jader Awad, Shorouq Duwaiyat, Maysun Mousa, Fadwa Hamada, Israa Jaabis and Aisha al Afghani.
:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/6SRQHSD44VHHRPWZZFBQCYLC7A.jpg "Israel confirms release of another 39 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 13 Hamas hostages 2")
An International Red Cross vehicle carrying hostages released by Hamas heads towards the Rafah border point with Egypt on November 25, 2023. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP).
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The parties agreed this week, with the mediation of Egypt, Qatar and the United States, to exchange 50 Israeli hostages for 150 Palestinian prisoners, during four days of truce, and the entry of 200 trucks of humanitarian aid daily into the Gaza Strip.
In both cases it would always be women, children and adolescents and the ceasefire may be extended if Hamas It undertakes to release at least ten captives per day, in exchange for the release of three times as many Palestinian prisoners.
