Israel has published a list of 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences set to be released under a hostage exchange agreement between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, part of their overall ceasefire deal, even as a Palestinian group said no list had been agreed to.
The prisoners and detainees will be released in line with the Gaza ceasefire deal, according to Friday’s statement on the website of Israel’s Justice Ministry.
The ministry usually publishes lists of prisoners to allow the public to file petitions with the Supreme Court against their release.
However, the court usually rejects the petitions submitted to it.
Upon reviewing the list of names, Anadolu did not find the names of numerous imprisoned leaders demanded by Hamas, including prominent figures, among them Marwan Barghouti, Ahmed Saadat, Abdullah Barghouti, Hassan Salama, Abbas al-Sayed, and Ibrahim Hamed.
“No official agreement has yet been reached”
In response to the list, the Palestinian Prisoners' Information Office denied having reached an agreement, stating on Telegram: “No official agreement has yet been reached regarding the lists of prisoners included in the exchange deal.”
It added: “If a final agreement is reached, the official lists will be published on the Prisoners' Media Office's (social media) platforms."
Hamas did not immediately comment on the list.
According to a document explaining details of the ceasefire agreement, “within 72 hours of the withdrawal of Israeli forces, all Israeli hostages, living and deceased, held in Gaza will be released.”
Under the agreement, Israel will release 250 prisoners sentenced to life in prison, and 1,700 prisoners arrested from Gaza since October 7, 2023 in exchange for 20 Israeli prisoners.
