Red Cross vehicles and buses stand by in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, ahead of the release of Palestinian prisoners by Israel. AP
Of the 1,966 prisoners, 250 are set to be released to the West Bank, Jerusalem, and other countries, while 1,716, kidnapped from Gaza by Israeli occupation forces, are expected to be released at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital.
Al Jazeera reported that Palestinian buses have begun moving from Gaza toward the Karm Abu Salem crossing to receive the released detainees.
The Red Cross office in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, is also preparing to receive Palestinian prisoners scheduled for release, according to Al Jazeera.
More than 11,100 Palestinians exist in Israeli prisons, enduring torture, starvation, and medical neglect, conditions that have led to numerous deaths, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
The first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel came into effect at noon on Friday, Jerusalem time (09:00 GMT), after the Israeli government approved the deal earlier that morning.
Under the deal, Israel is set to release 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences, 88 from Ofer Prison west of Ramallah, and 162 from Ketziot Prison in the Negev.
They are to be transferred to the Gaza Strip, after which most are expected to be deported to Egypt, according to the WAFA news agency.
In addition, 1,718 Palestinians taken captives from the Gaza Strip following the outbreak of war on 7 October 2023 will also be freed.
Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet, vetoed the release of 25 senior Palestinian figures it described as posing an ongoing “security threat.”
Among those excluded are prominent political and militant leaders, including Marwan Barghouti, the imprisoned Fatah figure long seen as a potential successor to President Mahmoud Abbas; Ahmad Saadat, secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); and veteran Hamas commander Hassan Salameh.
Moreover, Israeli media reported that the government held an emergency vote early Monday to approve a further amendment to the list of prisoners to be freed under the ongoing exchange deal.
According to the public broadcaster Kan, five additional Palestinian prisoners were added as reserves to the list of 1,700 detainees from Gaza.
These five will be released only if the total number of freed prisoners falls short of the agreed figure.
One of the most notable names on the reserve list is Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, who was detained by Israeli forces during a raid on the facility in December.
As detainee transfers began on Sunday, Israeli forces raided the homes of several Palestinians expected to be released in the occupied West Bank, banning families from holding celebrations or displaying Palestinian flags, a pattern seen in previous prisoner exchanges during Israel’s two-year war on Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, released 13 Israeli captives and handed them over to the International Committee of the Red Cross as part of the second phase of the exchange, after having earlier handed over an initial group of seven captives.
According to Israel’s Army Radio, Hamas no longer holds any living captives following the release of a total of 20 Israeli captives by the Qassam Brigades.
Earlier on Monday, the Qassam Brigades released the names of 20 Israelis set to be freed as part of the first phase of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement. The list includes two Israeli soldiers.
It reaffirmed its commitment to the agreement's terms and timeline, provided Israel adheres to its obligations.
“The Israeli occupation failed to free its captives by force and was ultimately compelled to accept the resistance’s conditions and the terms of the prisoner exchange deal,” Hamas said in a statement.
“We have made every effort to protect the Israeli captives while the enemy continues to commit horrific crimes against Palestinian prisoners,” the statement added.
The Palestinian resistance group affirmed that “the prisoners’ issue will remain a top priority until the last Palestinian detainee is freed from Israeli prisons.”
Israeli authorities have officially declared 26 of the 48 captives dead, based on forensic examinations and intelligence information, while the fate of two others remains unknown.
Most of the captives were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
Hamas said that recovering the bodies of some deceased Israelis may take time, as the burial locations of several remain unknown. A special international task force is expected to assist in locating and identifying all burial sites.
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