A number of Palestinian prisoners who were forced into exile by Israeli occupation arrived in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, after being freed under an exchange deal.
At least 154 Palestinian prisoners being freed on Monday were forced into exile by the Israeli occupation, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office.
Those deported were among a larger group of Palestinians being released– 250 people held in Israeli prisons along with about 1,700 Palestinians seized from the Gaza Strip during two years of Israeli genocidal war, many of whom were “forcibly disappeared”, according to the United Nations.
Their families expressed how bittersweet was their long-awaited freedom as they would not see their loved ones returning to their hometowns across Palestine.
The family of Palestinian prisoner Murad Abu Rub was left devastated after learning that he had been exiled rather than allowed to return to Ramallah. Abu Rub, released by Israel under a ceasefire agreement was deported to Egypt and barred from re-entering Palestinian territories pic.twitter.com/65MG6rz0L6
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) October 13, 2025
The deported prisoners were warmly welcomed late on Monday by Palestinian faction leaders, who embraced them amid chants in support of the resistance and the remaining prisoners behind bars.
The freed prisoners were seen flashing V-for-victory signs as they expressed gratitude and appreciation to the resistance factions in Gaza. They stressed that their freedom is the fruit of the sacrifices of the resistance fighters and the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in the face of aggression.
The moment the prisoners deported in the exchange deal arrive in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. pic.twitter.com/AOMk65lyJo
— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) October 13, 2025
They also paid tribute to Yemen, Lebanon, and the Islamic Republic of Iran for their steadfast support for Palestine and its resistance.
For their part, leaders of Palestinian factions renewed their commitment to exert all efforts to free Palestinian prisoners and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people, stressing that what was achieved today is a step on the path to complete freedom and the restoration of rights.
Novelist Bassem Khandaqji
One of the deported prisoners was Palestinian novelist Bassem Khandaqji. A video shared on social media shows a gaunt Khandaqji being greeted by supporters on his arrival in Egypt, wearing a traditional Palestinian scarf and smiling.
بعد 21 عامًا من الأسر.. لحظة لقاء الأسير المبعد باسم خندقجي بشقيقته في #القاهرة بعد تحرره ضمن صفقة طوفان الأحرار pic.twitter.com/Fv7SH0tgMC
— التلفزيون العربي (@AlarabyTV) October 14, 2025
He was quoted as saying upon his arrival in Cairo: “Peace be upon Gaza on the day we are resurrected alive from within the prisons of colonialism.”
Khandaqji was arrested in 2004, at the age of 21, on so-called “terrorism” charges and sentenced to three life sentences over alleged links to a deadly bombing in Tel Aviv.
In 2024, Khandaqji received the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) for his novel A Mask, the Colour of the Sky, one of several books he penned while in Israeli prison.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
