More Palestinian women, children freed from Israeli prisons

News Desk - The Cradle 

The 39 Palestinians were released in the second phase of a captive exchange in which Hamas also released 13 Israelis

Hamas and Israel completed the second phase of a captive exchange on the evening of 25 November, Wafa News Agency reported. Israeli prison authorities released 39 Palestinian prisoners, including 6 women and 33 children. In turn, Hamas released 13 Israelis, including four children, as well as four Thai citizens.

The Palestinians were released Saturday from the Israeli military prison of Ofer near Ramallah in the occupied-West Bank, and from the Russian Compound prison in occupied-Jerusalem.

In the West Bank city of Al-Bireh, hundreds of people gathered at the municipal square to receive the released prisoners, who were transported by vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The crowd chanted slogans celebrating their release and calling for the release of all prisoners held in Israeli occupation prisons.

The Palestinian women released are Israa Jaabis, Fadwa Hamada, Aisha Afgani, Nurhan Awwad, Shorouq Duwayat, and Maysoun Musa.

In occupied Jerusalem, Israeli forces prevented the families of the released female detainees from celebrating or receiving relatives and friends at home.

Earlier in the day, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, had announced a delay in the release of the second group of Israeli captives, citing Israel’s "non-compliance" with the deal regarding aid delivery to Gaza.

"We decided to delay the release of the second batch of prisoners until the occupation adheres to the terms of the agreement related to the entry of relief trucks into the northern Gaza Strip," the Qassam Brigades said on Telegram.

Saturday’s captive exchange followed the successful exchange of 24 Israelis and foreigners for 39 Palestinians from Israeli jails on Friday. The exchange came on the first day of a four-day humanitarian pause following 50 days of fighting.

Additional captives on both sides will be released in batches today and tomorrow before the four-day period ends.

Israel launched a massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on 7 October.

Israel has killed at least 14,854 Palestinians, including 6,150 children and over 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the enclave.

During the 7 October attack, some 1,200 Israelis were killed including soldiers and civilians. Some Israelis were killed by Hamas during the attack, while others were killed as collateral damage by Israeli forces using tanks, drones, and Apache helicopters, and to prevent Hamas from taking them back to Gaza as captives.