A Palestinian detainee, freed under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, arrives in Ramallah, West Bank, on Monday.
Majdi Mohammed/AP
BEITUNIA, West Bank – Jubilant scenes unfolded across Palestinian territories on Monday as Israel released close to 2,000 prisoners in accordance with a ceasefire pact with Hamas, which also involved the liberation of Israeli hostages held by the group.
Massive crowds welcomed the released individuals in Beitunia, located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and in Khan Younis, Gaza. Many flashed victory signs as they disembarked from International Committee of the Red Cross buses. In Beitunia, the returning prisoners were draped in traditional keffiyeh scarves symbolizing Palestinian identity. Some were hoisted onto shoulders, while others collapsed into chairs, visibly drained.
Kamal Abu Shanab, a 51-year-old Fatah affiliate from Tulkarem in the West Bank, described his ordeal: “The experience was beyond words – enduring hunger, mistreatment, oppression, torture, and verbal abuse – far worse than anything imaginable.”
His niece, Farah Abu Shanab, remarked on his transformation: “He is unrecognizable; the man we knew is gone. Our uncle looks nothing like himself.”
The group of released prisoners includes approximately 1,700 Palestinians detained by Israeli forces during the two-year conflict in Gaza, many held without formal charges.
Additionally, 250 Palestinians serving sentences-mostly for fatal attacks on Israelis spanning several decades, alongside others convicted of lesser offenses-were freed, according to Israel’s Justice Ministry. Among them, 154 were exiled to Egypt, where authorities plan to relocate them to third countries.
The remainder returned to their homes in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza.
A Moment of Deep Significance
The prisoner releases carry profound emotional weight on both sides of the conflict.
For many Israelis, the decision is painful, as some released individuals were convicted of attacks that resulted in civilian and military casualties. Conversely, for Palestinians, the issue of detainees is deeply political, with nearly every family having experienced the imprisonment of a relative, particularly young men.
While Israel classifies these prisoners as terrorists, many Palestinians view them as resistance fighters opposing a prolonged military occupation. Human rights organizations have highlighted harsh detention conditions-including isolation, abuse, and health neglect-making prisoners emblematic of the Palestinian struggle.
In Khan Younis, celebrations erupted with thousands cheering and gunfire marking the occasion. Freed detainees, clad in gray uniforms, proceeded to hospitals for medical checkups.
During the conflict, Israeli forces detained thousands of Palestinians through raids on shelters, hospitals, and checkpoints, often intercepting families fleeing violence.
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A Palestinian detainee flashes a victory sign upon release from Israeli custody in Ramallah, West Bank.
Majdi Mohammed/AP
Families often remained unaware of their loved ones’ detention, sometimes waiting months without confirmation of their whereabouts. Most were held under emergency laws enacted at the war’s outset, permitting detention of Palestinians as “unlawful combatants” without judicial oversight or legal representation.
Reports from human rights groups, the United Nations, and former detainees have documented frequent mistreatment in Israeli detention centers, including physical abuse and inadequate nutrition.
Israel maintains that it upholds legal standards in its prisons and investigates any allegations of misconduct.
Despite Monday’s releases, approximately 1,300 Palestinians from Gaza remain in Israeli custody, according to the Israeli rights organization Hamoked’s September tally.
Restrictions on Celebrations
Despite Israeli warnings against public celebrations, Palestinians gathered on hills near Ofer Prison. Israeli forces responded by deploying tear gas and rubber bullets, dispersing the crowd amid drone surveillance.
Israeli military officials declined to comment on the incident.
Details of Those Released
Hamas provided a list of Gaza detainees freed, which includes two women, six minors under 18, and about 30 men over 60 years old.
The 250 convicted prisoners released range in age from 19 to 64. Among them, 159 are affiliated with Fatah, the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and 63 with Hamas. The rest belong to other factions or are unaffiliated.
Many were arrested during the early 2000s amid the Second Intifada, a Palestinian uprising sparked by frustration over ongoing Israeli occupation despite peace negotiations. During this period, Palestinian militant groups carried out attacks killing hundreds of Israelis, while Israeli forces killed thousands of Palestinians.
Some detainees were convicted in military courts criticized for lacking fair trial standards. Others were held for extended periods without trial under administrative detention, a practice Israel defends as necessary to prevent attacks and protect intelligence sources, though it faces widespread condemnation.
Freed Palestinian prisoners wave to supporters in Ramallah after their release under the ceasefire agreement.
Mahmoud Illean/AP
Notably absent from Hamas’s list are several high-profile detainees, including Marwan Barghouti, Hassan Salameh, Ahmed Saadat, and Abbas Al-Sayyed. Barghouti is widely regarded as a potential successor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel’s released prisoner roster includes:
Raed Sheikh
A 51-year-old Palestinian police officer and Fatah member, Sheikh received multiple life sentences in 2000 for involvement in the killing of two Israeli soldiers attacked by a mob at a West Bank police station, including one who was thrown from a window.
Mahmoud Issa
A 57-year-old Hamas commander imprisoned since 1993-prior to the Oslo peace accords-Issa was convicted of kidnapping and murdering a 29-year-old Israeli border police officer. He spent much of his incarceration in solitary confinement, becoming a symbol for prisoner rights advocates.
Shamasneh Brothers
Mohammed (56) and Abdel Jawad Shamasneh (62) were sentenced in 1993 to multiple life terms for their involvement in a stabbing attack that resulted in the deaths of Israeli hitchhikers, whose bodies were discovered in a Jerusalem riverbed in 1990 during the First Intifada.
Iyad Fatafta
A 47-year-old Fatah member serving a life sentence, Fatafta was convicted alongside another man for the murder of American tourist Kristine Luken and the stabbing of her companion, who survived the attack.
