Occupation releases 88 prisoners from "Ofer" prison as part of the exchange deal

SadaNews - Israeli occupation forces released today, Monday, 88 detainees serving life sentences from Ofer prison west of Ramallah, as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

The International Committee of the Red Cross announced this morning that it had received Israeli detainees in Gaza in two batches, numbering 20, and handed them over to the occupying authorities.

According to the first phase of the plan, all living Israeli detainees in Gaza will be released in exchange for the occupation authorities releasing 250 detainees from its high-sentenced prisons, including 88 from "Ofer" prison west of Ramallah, and 162 from "Ketziot" prison in the Negev. They will be transported to Gaza before the majority are transferred to the Arab Republic of Egypt, in addition to 1718 detainees from Gaza who were arrested after the war began on October 7, 2023.

Israeli occupation authorities prevented on Sunday the travel of about 100 relatives of the detainees who will be released today and will be expelled outside of Palestine.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the ninth of this month that an agreement had been reached to implement the first phase of his peace plan for the Middle East, which he announced on September 29, aimed at ending the war on Gaza, withdrawing the occupation forces, allowing humanitarian aid to enter, and exchanging prisoners.

According to prisoners' institutions, the number of detainees in Israeli occupation prisons exceeds 11,000, who suffer catastrophic conditions and circumstances, including torture, starvation, and systematic medical negligence, leading to the martyrdom of some of them while in detention.

The number of detainees sentenced to life imprisonment has reached 350, and 40 detainees are awaiting charges for potential life sentences. The number of female detainees is 53, including three from Gaza, and two children, with around 400 child prisoners held in (Ofer and Megiddo) prisons. The total number of detainees held without trial is approximately 3,380 as of October 2023.

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli occupation forces have committed acts of genocide in Gaza, resulting in the martyrdom of more than 67,806 individuals and injuring over 170,000 others, most of whom are children and women, along with a famine that has claimed the lives of 463 citizens, including 157 children.