RAMALLAH, October 13, 2025 (WAFA) – As part of the first phase of US President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip and achieve peace in the Middle East, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli detainees in the Gaza Strip began a short while ago.
According to the first phase of the plan, all living Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip will be released in two batches, totaling 20 people. In addition, 28 bodies will be gradually handed over, depending on the progress made in recovering them from under the rubble of homes in the Gaza Strip.
In return, the occupation authorities will release 250 prisoners serving life sentences from their prisons, and 1,718 prisoners from the Gaza Strip detained after the war began on October 7, 2023.
The Israeli occupation authorities have gathered the prisoners to be released from five central prisons: 107 prisoners in Ofer prison, west of Ramallah, and the remaining 143 prisoners in Ketziot prison in the Negev, in preparation to transfer them to the Gaza Strip and then to the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The exchange of Palestinian and Israeli prisoners will take place under the supervision of an Egyptian-Qatari-American committee, which is monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.
Yesterday, the Israeli occupation authorities prevented approximately 100 relatives of the prisoners who will be released today from traveling and will deport them outside Palestine.
On October 9th, US President Donald Trump announced an agreement to implement the first phase of his Middle East peace plan, which he announced on September 29th. The plan calls for an end to the war on the Gaza Strip, the withdrawal of the occupation forces, the entry of humanitarian aid, and a prisoner exchange.
The following day, the Israeli occupation government ratified the ceasefire agreement and the broad outlines for the exchange of prisoners and detainees.
Last Friday, the ceasefire went into effect at noon, marking the beginning of the 72-hour period specified in the agreement for the completion of the prisoner exchange.
According to prisoner organizations, the number of detainees in Israeli prisons exceeds 11,000, suffering catastrophic conditions, including torture, starvation, and systematic medical neglect, which has led to the deaths of several detainees in captivity.
The number of detainees sentenced to life imprisonment reached 350, while indictments were filed against them, paving the way for the issuance of life sentences. There are 53 female prisoners, including three from Gaza, and two children.
Approximately 400 child prisoners are held in Ofer and Megiddo prisons. The number of detainees held without trial reached approximately 3,380 as of October of this year.
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation forces have committed genocidal crimes in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the killing of more than 67,806 people and the injury of more than 170,000 others, most of whom are women and children. Famine has claimed the lives of 463 citizens, including 157 children.
K.T
