Israel’s justice ministry has announced that 737 prisoners and detainees will be released in the first phase of the Gaza truce and hostage release agreement approved on Saturday.
According to a report by ARY News on Saturday, in a statement on its website, the ministry confirmed that the Israeli government has approved the release of the 737 individuals currently in prison custody.
This decision follows the approval of the ceasefire deal by Israel’s cabinet early on Saturday, ending the uncertainty over whether the truce would take effect over the weekend, as confirmed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
The release, which will not occur before Sunday at 4:00 pm local time (1400 GMT), includes men, women, and children. Previously, a list of 95 Palestinian prisoners, mostly women, was published to be freed in exchange for Israeli captives held in Gaza.
The expanded list includes notable individuals, such as Zakaria Zubeidi, leader of the armed wing of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party. Zubeidi, who famously escaped from Israel’s Gilboa prison with five other Palestinians in 2021, has become a symbol of resistance.
Also among those to be freed is Khalida Jarar, a leftist Palestinian lawmaker who has faced multiple arrests by Israel. A prominent member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a group that Israel, the U.S., and the EU designate as a “terrorist organisation,” Jarar has been held without charge since her detention in late December.
Two sources close to Hamas have revealed that the first group of hostages to be released will consist of three Israeli women soldiers. However, as Hamas classifies anyone of military age who has completed mandatory service as a soldier, this could include civilians abducted during the initial attack that triggered the conflict.
The final number of prisoners to be released in the first phase will depend on the number of hostages freed by Hamas, according to a statement from Justice Ministry spokeswoman Noga Katz.
