Israel releases 183 Palestinian prisoners
183 Palestinian prisoners released as part of the agreement between Israel and Hamas (photo: Getty Images)
After Hamas released three Israeli hostages as part of a truce agreement, Israel, in turn, handed over 183 Palestinian prisoners to the group. Among them are those serving life sentences, The Times of Israel reports.
According to the media outlet, the first of the 183 Palestinian prisoners got off the bus in the West Bank, where they were met by a crowd of people waiting for their release.
It is known that 18 of the 183 Palestinians were sentenced to life imprisonment, and another 54 were sentenced to long terms. 111 people were detained in Gaza after October 7, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel.
In the fourth exchange, three hostages were returned to Israel. In particular, Yarden Bibas and Ofer Calderon were the first to cross the border into Israel after 484 days in captivity.
Hamas later handed over a third hostage, named Keith Siegel. He is now on his way with the Red Cross to the IDF, the IDF said.
A truce between Israel and Hamas
In January 2025, it became known that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. As part of the agreement, Israel promised to release two thousand Palestinian prisoners, including 250 sentenced to life imprisonment.
In turn, the Hamas group pledges to release 33 Israeli prisoners. Since then, several Israeli hostages have been released.
On the morning of October 7, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas launched a massive rocket attack on Israel. The militants then broke through into Israeli territory and managed to capture several settlements. But in a few days, the Israeli army regained control of 100% of the territory. However, the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel killed more than 1,200 people and took hundreds of hostages.
