Last Updated:
Among those to be released are 18 serving life sentences, 54 with lengthy sentences, and 111 from Gaza who were arrested after October 7
A former Palestinian prisoner released by Israel is cheered upon his arrival in Ramallah on buses of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on February 1. (AFP photo)
Israel will free 183 inmates from jails on Saturday in the fifth hostage-prisoner swap agreed with Hamas as part of an ongoing Gaza ceasefire deal, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group.
“Among those to be released are 18 serving life sentences, 54 with lengthy sentences, and 111 from Gaza who were arrested after October 7,” Amani Sarahneh, spokeswoman for the Palestinian NGO, told AFP, referring to Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel in 2023 which started the Gaza war.
This follows the release of three names by Hamas’ armed wing, which announced the captives to be freed on Saturday under the Al-Aqsa Flood deal. The spokesperson for the armed wing, Abu Obeida, confirmed the release on Telegram.
“Within the framework of the Al-Aqsa Flood deal for the prisoner exchange, the (Ezzedine) Al-Qassam Brigades have decided to release” the three hostages, Abu Obeida, spokesman for the armed wing, said on Telegram.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed to AFP it had received a list of hostages for release from Gaza on Saturday after Hamas published three names of captives to be freed.
Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum later published the names of the three men slated for release, identifying them as Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)
