The Israeli occupation and Hamas resistance movement are preparing to implement the prisoner swap deal and the ceasefire in Gaza that will take effect on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated on Friday that the release of the Israeli captives would be able to begin on Sunday, pending the cabinet’s approval of the deal.
The office released a list of 33 captives who will be released in the first stage of the deal.
“Pending approval by the Security Cabinet and the Government, and the agreement taking effect, the release of the hostages will be implemented according to the planned framework in which the hostages are expected to be released on Sunday,” the statement read.
The full Israeli government will convene today at 3:30 p.m. to approve the deal with Hamas, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
It’s official, the ceasefire is announced, it’s going to start in the upcoming 3 days..
Updates: Israel has killed 30 people since the ceasefire announcement! pic.twitter.com/IChYaHMSIm
— Wizard Bisan (@Wizard__Bisan) January 17, 2025
Meanwhile, Israeli Prisons Service said it was preparing to process the release of Palestinian security prisoners as part of the deal with Hamas.
A statement from the Prisons Service said that Israeli authorities will facilitate the first part of the prisoners’ transport, not the Red Cross, to ensure that “the terrorists do not deviate from the strict security guidelines and refrain from any expression of joy within Israeli territory,” referring to Palestinian resistance activists and to occupied territories in Palestine.
For its part, Hamas said the names of the Palestinian prisoners to be freed in the first stage will be released by the Prisoners Office.
The Palestinian resistance group said “obstacles that arose due to the occupation’s failure to abide by the terms of the ceasefire agreement were resolved at dawn today,” according to a statement.
⚡️JUST IN:
According to Haaretz newspaper, Israel is expected to release 600 prisoners with sentences exceeding 15 years, 290 prisoners serving life sentences, and 100 female prisoners from the Gaza Strip.
Additionally, 600 aid trucks will enter the Gaza Strip daily, and… pic.twitter.com/dFIGHPUYTg
— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws) January 17, 2025
According to a leaked copy of the agreement, over 1,700 Palestinian prisoners are to be freed in return for 33 Israeli captives in the first phase of the deal: 700 Palestinians, 250-300 of whom are serving life terms; 1,000 Gazans captured since October 8 in fighting in the Strip; and 47 rearrested prisoners from the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal.
Source: Israeli and Palestinian media
