Gaza deal sends more than 230 Palestinian prisoners into exile
More than 230 Palestinian prisoners, sentenced to life imprisonment for attacks that killed Israelis, are to be exiled following their release as part of a prisoner swap under the Gaza ceasefire agreement, AFP reports.
Israel has published a list of 734 prisoners, out of a total of 737 it said would be released during the first phase of the ceasefire deal which commenced yesterday.
According to the list, more than 230 prisoners, all serving life sentences for conducting or participating in deadly attacks against Israelis, are to be permanently exiled.
More than 1,000 other Palestinians taken into Israeli custody since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the conflict are also due to be released during the initial 42-day truce.
Two Hamas sources involved in the negotiations stated that Israel agreed to release 296 Palestinians sentenced to life imprisonment during the first phase of the agreement, 236 of whom are to be deported immediately after their release, mainly to Qatar or Turkiye.
The first phase of the agreement involves the release of a total of about 1,900 Palestinians in exchange for 33 Israeli hostages held in Gaza.