JERUSALEM: Israel’s justice ministry published a list of 250 prisoners scheduled for release on Friday as part of a hostage exchange agreement with Hamas.
The published list excludes several senior Palestinian militant leaders whose release Hamas had demanded.
Notable leaders serving life sentences in Israeli prisons include Marwan Barghouti, Ahmad Saadat, Hassan Salameh, and Abbas al-Sayyed.
Barghouti, sentenced to life in 2004 for murder and designated a terrorist by Israel, is often called the “Palestinian Mandela” by his supporters.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to the initial phase of a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange based on a 20-point US proposal.
The agreement stipulates Israel’s release of 250 prisoners and approximately 1,700 Gazans detained since the war started after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.
Hamas will reciprocate by releasing 47 hostages still held from the 251 individuals abducted during the attack two years ago.
The remains of an additional hostage, held in Gaza since 2014, are also anticipated to be returned under this arrangement. – AFP
