Israel to release 737 Palestinians in first phase of truce

A long-awaited ceasefire brings the release of hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel.

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Israel’s justice ministry has announced the release of 737 Palestinians as part of the first phase of a ceasefire and exchange deal approved on Saturday.

A statement on the ministry’s website confirmed the government’s approval of the releases, which will take place under the framework of the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas.

There are currently 10,400 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, excluding those detained in Gaza over the past 15 months, according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society.

Some detainees have been held for decades.

Among those set for release is Zakaria Zubeidi, a commander of Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and a key figure in a 2021 prison break in northern Israel, according to local media.

The Israeli justice ministry’s list indicates that Zubeidi will return to his hometown of Jenin in the northern West Bank.

Israel's security cabinet approved in a vote on Friday a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal that should take effect this weekend, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.

The agreement, which must now go to the full cabinet for a final green light, would halt fighting and bombardment in Gaza's deadliest-ever war.

Under the deal struck by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, the ensuing weeks should also see the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

The justice ministry on Friday published a list of 95 Palestinians to be freed starting Sunday, "subject to government approval".

They include 69 women, 16 men and 10 minors.

The Israel Prison Service said it would prevent any "public displays of joy" when Palestinian prisoners are released.

Israeli strikes have killed dozens since the ceasefire deal was announced. The military said on Thursday it had hit about 50 targets across Gaza over the previous 24 hours.

The cabinet will convene later Friday to approve the deal. The ceasefire would take effect on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration as US president.

Saying the proposed deal "supports achieving the objectives of the war", Netanyahu's office announced that the security cabinet recommended that the government approve it.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said in a statement Friday the Palestinian Authority has completed preparations "to assume full responsibility in Gaza" after the war.

Even before the truce begins, displaced Gazans were preparing to return home.

"I will go to kiss my land," said Nasr al-Gharabli, who fled his home in Gaza City for a camp further south. "If I die on my land, it would be better than being here as a displaced person."

In Israel, there was joy but also anguish over the remaining hostages taken in the Hamas attack.

Two far-right ministers have voiced opposition to the deal, with one threatening to quit the cabinet, but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he believed the ceasefire would proceed.

"I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said, on Sunday," he said.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israel pounded several areas of the territory, killing more than 100 people and wounding hundreds more since the deal was announced on Wednesday.

Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, warned that Israeli strikes were risking the lives of hostages and could turn their "freedom... into a tragedy".

The October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Of the 251 people taken hostage, 94 are still in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military declared dead.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing 46,876 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable.

The ceasefire agreement followed intensified efforts from mediators after months of fruitless negotiations, with Trump's team taking credit for working with US President Joe Biden's administration to seal the deal.

"If we weren't involved... the deal would've never happened," Trump said in an interview Thursday.