Palestinians in the west coast and Gaza celebrate the release of prisoners

Hundreds of released Palestinian prisoners and detainees were greeted with tears and screams of joy when they were released from Israel to reunite with their families in Gaza and the occupied west coast.

The announcement was attended by about 250 prisoners who were convicted of crimes, including murder and deadly attacks against Israeli – and about 1,700 detainees by Gaza, who were held by Israel without charges.

As the prisoners exited the Red Cross bus in Ramala, many, draped in the traditional Kefie scarves, looked pale and insightful, with some struggling to walk.

They were released as part of an exchange in which 20 Israeli hostages and the remains of some deceased hostages were released by Hamas.

“He is ready to accept freedom,” said the 24 -year -old Amro Abdullah, who was waiting for his cousin Rashid Omar, 48, who was arrested in July 2005 and sentenced to life imprisonment by an Israeli court after being found guilty.

“I want peace,” said G -n Abudula. “I want to live a happy life, safe and peaceful, with no profession and without restrictions.”

It is believed that 100 prisoners were put on the west coast, with many others deported and a small number released in East Jerusalem.

Israel became clear before the release process, he wanted to avoid the cheerful scenes that surrounded prisoners arriving in Ramala during previous hostage deals when big crowds waved flags of Hamas.

Many families are reluctant to talk to the media, saying that they were warned not to do so from the Israeli military.

In Gaza, the families gathered at Nasser Hospital in Han Enis, hoping to reunite with their loved ones. A field hospital was created in the neighborhood of the main hospital building to accept them.

“This is a very beautiful feeling -happy, a day of joy,” says the 50 -year -old Mohammed Hassan Side Dowd, who told the BBC that he was there to gather his son, who, in his opinion, was arrested by the Israeli forces at a checkpoint.

“We call it a national holiday that our detainees are released despite the price of the war, the martyrs, the wounded and the destruction in Gaza.”

Halil Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Catris, who was also there to gather his son, whom he said he had been detained for about three months, said, “There is joy and there is pain and there is happiness and there is grief.”

“We came here in anticipation of their release. We came here, expecting them to arrive at 10:00 am, and now it’s gone 12:00 and we are still waiting, on the edge.”

Prior to the release in Ramala, the ambulances of the Palestin Society Red Crescent, created in the preparation for the treatment of all wounded prisoners.

“Crying and silence, this shows you how families feel,” says 23 -year -old Ibrahim Efani, a volunteer nurse for the organization.

“For all people in Palestine, this is a deep, deep emotion,” he said.

Numerous medicines and family members have said that prisoners who have been released in Ramala have encountered beatings in the last days before their release.

The BBC cannot verify the allegations of abuse in Israeli prisons. But Israel’s best court said last month that Palestinian prisoners are No adequate food is givenS

BBC also previously reports that Palestinians are tortured in Israeli detentionS

“Their rights were violated in the most serious ways,” says 26 -year -old Aya Shraith of the Palestinian Prisoners Club.

“Most of the prisoners have been intentionally starving and disease exposure in the last year,” she told the BBC.

“Their bodies are fragile with hunger and have suffered from beating.”

“But today it gives us hope that there will always be inevitable freedom, regardless of the circumstances,” she added.

The exchange of hostages and prisoners was part of the first phase of Donald Trump’s peace plan, aimed at ending the Gaza war, which was caused by the attacks led by Hamas against South Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and 251 hostages taken.

Israel launched a retaliatory offensive, which killed more than 67,682 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in the territory.

Termination of the fire is mastered on Friday – negotiations are now expected to follow the last phases of Trump’s peace plan.