The Israel Prison Service declared on Monday that 90 Palestinian prisoners will be released under a truce agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli authorities on Sunday started moving Palestinian prisoners from detention facilities to Ofer Prison in the West Bank in anticipation of their release.
This happened at the same time that the Red Cross was meeting with Hamas forces to negotiate the handover of three Israeli hostages, which were eventually brought into Israel, according to Xinhua news agency.
The three women—Emily Damari, 28, a British-Israeli, Doron Steinbrecher, 30, a veterinary nurse, and Romi Gonen, 23, abducted from the Nova music festival—were the first hostages freed after 471 days in captivity.
Their release marked the initial stage of the agreement, which outlines the release of 33 Israeli hostages by Hamas and 990 to 1,650 Palestinian prisoners by Israel.
As part of the agreement, the first batch of 90 Palestinian prisoners, who are mostly women and children from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, were medically examined and identified, then handed over to the Red Cross.
On its part, Hamas released the three Israeli hostages through the Red Cross to Israeli troops near the Gaza border, where they were reunited with their families.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, described the moment as significance, referring to it as when "the three went through hell."
IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari thanked for getting them back while making it clear that Israeli forces are ready for any breach of the deal.
Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida, addressing the statement about the intention of the ceasefire on condition of Israeli compliance with it, emphasized the "October 7 event, which included 1,200 dead, as well as kidnapping 250 more," would become a turning point in this conflict.
This six-week cease-fire agreement serves to bring hostilities to a stop after some 15 months of relentless Israel attacks in Gaza.
The phased release of hostages and prisoners is considered a vital step in de-escalating tensions between the two sides.
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