Israel-Hamas Cease Fire For Hostage Exchange Deal
According to a Palestinian official, in exchange for 13 hostages that are set to be released from the Gaza Strip by Hamas, Israel will release 39 Palestinian inmates in the West Bank on Friday. Among them are 24 females and 15 teenage boys.
Prisoner commissioner Qadura Fares announced that at approximately 4 p.m., the inmates—all from the West Bank or Jerusalem—will be transferred from Israel's Ofer military jail to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Thirteen women and children, out of over two hundred and forty-five, were kidnapped by the Hamas group during a murderous spree in southern Israel on October 7. Their scheduled release at the Gaza-Egypt border would coincide with the handover.
"After the Red Cross receives the (Palestinian) prisoners, the ones from Jerusalem will go to Jerusalem and the ones from the West Bank will gather in Betunia municipal council where their families will be waiting,” Fares told Reuters.
The prisoner release was a component of a fragile Israeli-Hamas ceasefire that started at 7 a.m. and seemed to be holding, with no significant reports of bombings, artillery strikes, or rocket launches, despite accusations of violations on both sides.