Israel releases 1,968 prisoners under Gaza ceasefire deal, prison service confirms

The Israeli Prison Service announced on Monday that it had released nearly 2,000 detainees, mostly Palestinians, under the terms of a Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Israel releases almost 2,000 Palestinians

In an official statement, the prison service said that “1,968 terrorists were transferred from several prisons across the country to the Ofer and Ktziot facilities.”

It added, “Following the completion of necessary procedures within the prisons and the approval of political authorities, all the detainees were released from Ofer Prison to the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and from Ktziot Prison to Kerem Shalom,” referring to one of the crossings into Gaza.

Following the release of 20 Israeli hostages by Hamas, Israel transferred 1,968 Palestinian prisoners from its facilities to buses bound for the West Bank and Gaza.

The group included 250 security detainees, many of whom were serving long-term or life sentences for attacks on Israeli civilians and security personnel. Among them were individuals convicted of involvement in high-profile incidents, including attacks during the Second Intifada in 2000, and other acts of violence. Hamas reported that 154 of these prisoners were sent to Egypt.

Separately, in southern Israel’s Ketziot Prison, 1,718 Gazan detainees who were not connected to the October 7, 2023, attacks were released. These individuals had been detained as part of security operations during the conflict and included a small number of women and children.

The releases reflect ongoing coordination and prisoner transfers amid broader regional and humanitarian efforts.