GAZA (Agencies): Israel has released 641 Palestinian detainees as part of the seventh batch of a prisoner-swap agreement with Hamas, under the Gaza Ceasefire deal. The detainees were freed in the early hours of Thursday, February 27, 2025, and included 151 individuals serving life sentences and high sentences, 445 prisoners from Gaza arrested after October 7, 97 prisoners to be deported, 45 women and children from Gaza, 42 prisoners from the West Bank and Jerusalem, and 12 prisoners from Gaza arrested before October 7.
The release follows the handover of four dead bodies of captives by Hamas to the Red Cross, who were killed by Israeli bombings in Gaza. The detainees arrived in Gaza in severely deteriorated health conditions, with many suffering from emaciation and unable to walk due to intense beatings and torture they endured during their imprisonment.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed that the detainees were transferred to medical facilities for immediate treatment. The Red Crescent announced that one of the released detainees, Kazem Zawahreh, who has been in a coma for months, was taken to a medical facility in the West Bank.
The release of the detainees is part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal, which aims to exchange prisoners and captives between Israel and Hamas. The deal has been facilitated by mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and the United States.
The Gaza Health Ministry has reported that 48,348 Palestinians have died in Israel’s war on Gaza, with 111,761 people wounded. The Government Media Office updated its death toll to at least 61,709, stating that thousands of Palestinians missing under the rubble are presumed dead.