For the families of Palestinian captives freed by Israel under a hostage deal agreed with the Islamist group Hamas, Friday brought relief mixed with sadness over the continuing fighting in Gaza following the end of a four-day ceasefire.
Twenty-nine Palestinian women and minors detained on various charges were freed under a Qatar-brokered deal that also freed 13 Israeli hostages captured by Hamas gunmen during attacks on Israel last month .
More than 100 Palestinian prisoners will be released in the coming four days and more could be released if the ceasefire is extended.
In Beituniya, a town near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, a large crowd, mostly young men, welcomed the freed prisoners by cheering, blowing car horns and marching down the street carrying Palestinian flags.
Some in the crowd also carried flags of Hamas, which imposes a blockade on Gaza, and chanted slogans in support of Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the group’s armed wing.
“I can’t express how I feel. Thank God,” said Laith Othman, 17, who was detained earlier this year on suspicion of throwing an incendiary device and released on Friday. Was done. “The situation (inside the prison) is very difficult,” he said as he was being carried down the street on someone’s shoulders.
Also read: Awaiting second phase of release of prisoners in Gaza ceasefire
Israeli commanders have vowed to free all hostages as they prepare to escalate the campaign launched in Gaza in the wake of the Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and foreigners, according to Israeli data.
Nearly 14,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli bombardments of Gaza and a ground campaign launched last month, and the army says it is preparing for the next phase of the operation after the ceasefire ends.
Ismail Shaheen, speaking from the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, said he was waiting to see his daughter Fatima, who was arrested for attempted stabbing earlier this year.
The 32-year-old computer scientist, who has a 5-year-old daughter, was shot during his arrest. Shaheen said that when he was allowed to meet his daughter in jail for the first time a few months after his detention, he was surprised to see his daughter in a wheelchair.
“Thank God he was released in this exchange deal,” he said. “We were happy that she was about to be released, but only a little, because we cannot ignore the grave situation of our brothers in Gaza, where thousands of people have been killed.”
