Israel has freed 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The release came early Monday, more than seven hours after three Israeli hostages released from Hamas captivity in Gaza returned to Israel.
A large bus carrying dozens of Palestinian detainees exited the gates of Israel鈥檚 Ofer prison, just outside the West Bank city of Ramallah. Israel鈥檚 military, which occupies the West Bank, warned Palestinians against public celebration, but crowds thronged the buses after they left the prison, some people climbing on top or waving flags, including those of Hamas.
There were fireworks and whistles, and shouts of 鈥淕od is great.鈥 Those released were hoisted onto others鈥 shoulders or embraced.
According to a list provided by the Palestinian Authority鈥檚 Commission for Prisoners鈥 Affairs, all of those released are women or teens, the youngest 15. Israel detained them for what it said were offenses related to Israel鈥檚 security, from throwing stones to more serious accusations like attempted murder.
The Hamas-led on southern Israel killed some 1,200 people and left some 250 others captive. Nearly 100 hostages remain in Gaza.
Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say make up more than half the dead.
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Freed Palestinian medical student says her 鈥榡oy is limited鈥
BEITUNIA, West Bank 鈥 Bara鈥檃 Al-Fuqha, 22, hugged her family as she stepped off the white Red Cross bus and into the sea of cheering Palestinians welcoming the 90 Palestinians freed by Israel early Monday.
A medical student at Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem before her arrest, she had spent around six months in Damon Prison. She said she was held under administrative detention 鈥 a policy of indefinite imprisonment without formal charge or trial that Israel almost exclusively uses against Palestinians. Israel says that the cases of Palestinians released as part of the exchange with Hamas for Israeli hostages all relate to state security charges.
Al-Fuqha said her conditions in Israeli prison were 鈥渢errible,鈥 her access to food and water limited.
鈥淚t was like, when we tried to hold our heads high, the guards would do their best to hold us down,鈥 she said.
But now, reunited with her family, al-Fuqha displayed a sense of relief and defiance.
鈥淭hank God, I am here with my family, I鈥檓 satisfied,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut my joy is limited, because so many among us Palestinians are being tortured and abused. Our people in Gaza are suffering. God willing, we will work to free them, too.鈥
That reflected a wider feeling in the crowd, with many saying this release offered a small, if fleeting, moment of joy, tempered by the 15 months of death and destruction in Gaza.
UN says more than 630 trucks with humanitarian aid have entered the Gaza Strip
JERUSALEM 鈥 United Nations humanitarian officials say that more than 630 trucks of humanitarian aid have entered the besieged Gaza Strip, in implementation of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
In a post on social media platform X, Tom Fletcher, the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs said that over 630 trucks entered Gaza on Sunday, with at least 300 of them bringing humanitarian assistance into the north.
鈥淭here is no time to lose,鈥 Fletcher wrote. 鈥淎fter 15 months of relentless war, the humanitarian needs are staggering.鈥
The Gaza ceasefire deal, which began Sunday with an initial phase lasting six weeks, calls for the entry into Gaza of 600 trucks carrying humanitarian relief daily. Over the course of the deal鈥檚 first stage, 33 Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity in Gaza will also be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Aid workers have been scrambling to address Gaza鈥檚 dire humanitarian needs after 15 months of devastating war and tough Israeli restrictions on aid deliveries and the movement of convoys within Gaza. Lawlessness and looting by armed gangs has also been a major obstacle to aid distribution.
Before this latest Israel-Hamas war began, Gaza was under a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade that allowed the entry of some 500 trucks a day carrying commercial supplies and humanitarian aid.
Hamas says delay in release of Palestinian prisoners the result of a conflict over list of names
JERUSALEM 鈥 Hamas鈥 office of prisoner affairs has issued a statement saying the delay in Israel鈥檚 release of Palestinian prisoners was the result of a last-minute conflict over the names on the list.
Seven hours after three Israeli hostages were released from Hamas captivity in Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian crowds gathered outside Israel鈥檚 Ofer prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah were still waiting for the release of 90 Palestinians.
The Hamas statement said: 鈥淒uring the process of checking the names of the prisoners being released from Ofer prison, there was found to be one female prisoner missing.鈥
Hamas said that its officials were in communication with mediators and the Red Cross in hopes of pressuring Israel 鈥渢o adhere to the agreed-upon list of prisoners.鈥 It said that the issue was being resolved and it expected the buses of the released prisoners to soon depart.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the delay.
Israeli military fires projectiles and moves journalists awaiting release of Palestinian prisoners
The Israeli military has been firing projectiles and moving journalists waiting to cover the release of Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire that began Sunday. That鈥檚 according to AP video, which showed smoke trailing from objects landing nearby.
The release of the 90 prisoners will take place in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Nearly seven hours have passed since the first three hostages were released from Gaza shortly after the ceasefire began.
It is now approaching 1 a.m. local time. Israel鈥檚 military has warned Palestinians against public celebration.
Trump's national security adviser says US will back Israel if Hamas runs afoul of ceasefire deal
WASHINGTON 鈥 President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 incoming national security adviser says the U.S. has assured Israel that if Hamas runs afoul of a Gaza ceasefire deal, 鈥渨e will be with them.鈥
Michael Waltz said on CNN鈥檚 鈥淪tate of the Union鈥 that trust and confidence is why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 鈥渇elt comfortable pushing this through his government.鈥
He says the Trump administration will support Israel as it is 鈥済oing to do what it has to do鈥 to ensure Hamas never rules the Palestinian territory again.
First photos show hostages reuniting with their mothers
JERUSALEM 鈥 The Israeli military released the first photos of the hostages reuniting with their mothers at a reception center in southern Israel, before they were flown by helicopter to the hospital.
In the photos, the women embrace their mothers. Merav Leshem Gonen cradled her daughter Romi, beaming. Emily Damari embraced her mother, and in a video call with her brother, showed off a hand where she lost two fingers on Oct. 7. Doron Steinbrecher and her mother Simona embraced in a fierce hug.
The hostages and their mothers have arrived at a hospital in central Israel, where they will reunite with the rest of their family and receive medical treatment. They are expected to stay in the hospital for a number of days. All of the hostages were able to walk under their own power, despite concerns about their conditions.
Outside of the hospital, hundreds of people danced and cheered to welcome the hostages back to Israel.
Israel's ambassador to US credits Trump and degrading of Hamas for ceasefire deal
WASHINGTON 鈥 Israel鈥檚 ambassador to the United States credited President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 administration, along with his country鈥檚 degrading of Hamas, for the ceasefire deal that took effect Sunday.
Ambassador Michael Herzog said Hamas realized they were on their own in their fight and 鈥淭rump came into the picture and said he wants a deal,鈥 pushing them toward it.
On 鈥淔ox News Sunday,鈥 he noted the 鈥渦nprecedented cooperation鈥 between President Joe Biden鈥檚 team and Trump鈥檚 envoys.
Going forward, he says he sees 鈥渁 role for the U.S. and other regional actors to apply and create alternatives to Hamas and stabilize the situation.鈥
Starmer says release of a British-Israeli woman is 鈥榓 wonderful news鈥
LONDON 鈥 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has described the release of a British-Israeli woman along with two other hostages Sunday as 鈥渨onderful and long-overdue news."
He also cautioned that the world must not forget about those still in captivity by Hamas militants.
Emily Damari, 28, who has dual British and Israeli nationality, was one of the three female hostages freed Sunday. Her mother, Mandy, released a statement of thanks for supporters 鈥渨ho never stopped saying her name.鈥
鈥淎fter 471 days Emily is finally home,鈥 her mother said.
Starmer said despite the news, Sunday 鈥渁lso represents another day of suffering for those who haven鈥檛 made it home yet.鈥
鈥淲hile this ceasefire deal should be welcomed, we must not forget about those who remain in captivity under Hamas,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e must now see the remaining phases of the ceasefire deal implemented in full and on schedule, including the release of those remaining hostages and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza.鈥
Father of an Israeli-American hostage grateful to Trump for work on ceasefire
The father of an Israel-American held by Hamas says he鈥檚 grateful for the incoming Trump administration for its work on getting the ceasefire deal over the finish line.
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, says the outgoing Biden administration 鈥渄id extraordinary work鈥 on the framework of the deal.
鈥淗owever, it took a tweet, the subsequent statements from President-elect Trump to get this home,鈥 the father said Sunday on ABC鈥檚 鈥淭his Week.鈥 鈥淎nd what we ask of President Trump and his team is to keep their finger on this.鈥
President Joe Biden鈥檚 top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, said Sunday that Sagui Dekel-Chen is one of the two Israeli-American hostages would will be released in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement over the coming weeks.
Biden's Mideast adviser expects 800 trucks of aid into Gaza on Sunday
WASHINGTON 鈥 President Joe Biden鈥檚 top Middle East adviser says 鈥渨e have a full ceasefire in effect鈥 and expects 800 trucks of humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza on Sunday.
Brett McGurk helped hammer out a deal in Doha, Qatar, along with President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and other mediators from Qatar and Egypt.
He noted on CBS鈥 鈥淔ace the Nation鈥 that two Israeli-American hostages will come out in the first phase of the deal over the coming weeks.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been working seamlessly with the incoming team. I think this is a testament to President Biden and to President Trump allowing us to work together,鈥 he said.
Relatives of hostages overcome with joy
TEL AVIV, Israel 鈥 They jumped and clapped, and cried out and wept. Israel鈥檚 military has released footage of relatives watching the three released hostages meeting military representatives after being released.
The military said the three women had reached the initial reception point in Israel to be reunited with their mothers. They would have an initial medical assessment and go to a hospital.
鈥淭his is an exciting day,鈥 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, and told the freed women that 鈥渁n entire nation embraces you.鈥
AP drone footage shows a devastated landscape in southern Gaza
Drone footage by The Associated Press in the opening hours of the ceasefire in Gaza shows a gray and devastated landscape in the southern city of Khan Younis.
The footage of what had been densely populated neighborhoods shows roofs caved in, shattered buildings and massive support beams holding up nothing at all.
The images also show Palestinians moving on foot on some of the city鈥檚 streets as people begin to assess the damage without the threat of Israeli fire.
The United Nations has said much of Gaza鈥檚 infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.
Biden says 鈥榯he guns in Gaza have gone silent鈥
WASHINGTON 鈥 U.S. President Joe Biden says 鈥渢he guns in Gaza have gone silent鈥 under a ceasefire deal he outlined in May.
Biden spoke during a visit to a church in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Speaking of the hostages that were being released under the ceasefire, Biden said he had just received a call saying the three were being released. Although he stressed that it was early and it wasn鈥檛 immediately clear whether they were out of Gaza, Biden said: 鈥淭hey appear to be in good health.鈥
Biden said it now falls on the Trump administration to help implement the deal.
鈥淚 was pleased to have our team speak as one voice in the final days. It was both necessary and effective and unprecedented,鈥 Biden said.
鈥淪uccess is going to require persistence and continuing support for our friends in the region, and the belief in diplomacy backed by deterrence,鈥 the president said.
Palestinians in the West Bank gather for the expected release of 90 prisoners from Israel
RAMALLAH, West Bank 鈥 Families and friends of some of the Palestinians prisoners set to be released from Israel in exchange for hostages in Gaza gathered in Ramallah as cars honked and people waved the Palestinian flag.
About 90 Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank and Jerusalem will be released Sunday after Hamas freed the three Israeli hostages. The Palestinians include 69 women.
Fadia Barghouti was arrested from Ramallah in April and spent three months in prison without being given a reason, she said. Tonight she hopes to see friends she had been detained with.
鈥淚鈥檓 happy, because of the ceasefire people can live peacefully,鈥 she said.
She said the war in Gaza is evidence that no one in the Middle East can live peacefully until Palestinians have their rights.
3 released hostages are with Israeli forces in Gaza
TEL AVIV, Israel 鈥 Three Israeli hostages released from Gaza have been handed over to Israeli forces there in the first test of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The three hostages are Romi Gonen, 24, kidnapped from the Nova music festival, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
Later on Sunday, Israel is expected to release around 90 Palestinian prisoners.
A gradual release of 33 captives over the next six weeks has been agreed on. In exchange, Israel will release almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and Palestinians from Gaza who have been detained.
Palestinian prisoners set for release include 69 women and youngest is 15
BEIRUT 鈥 The 90 Palestinian prisoners set to be released Sunday in exchange for three hostages held by Hamas include 69 women, according to a list provided to The Associated Press.
The youngest is Mahmoud Aliowat, 15.
The prisoners to be released include Khalida Jarrar, 62, a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a leftist faction with an armed group that has carried out attacks on Israelis. New York-based Human Rights Watch said her repeated arrests are part of Israel鈥檚 wider crackdown on non-violent political opposition.
Dalal Khaseeb, 53, the sister of former Hamas second-in-command Saleh Arouri, is also on the list, which was provided by Hamas. Arouri was killed in an Israeli strike in a southern Beirut suburb in January 2024.
Also listed for release is Abla Abdelrasoul, 68, the wife of detained PFLP leader Ahmad Saadat who killed an Israeli Cabinet minister in 2001 and has been serving a 30-year sentence.
Head of Rafah municipality says the city is a disaster zone
CAIRO 鈥 The head of the Rafah municipality in Gaza has told journalists that it has become a 鈥渄isaster city,鈥 with massive destruction there.
Ahmed al-Sufi said Israel鈥檚 military has destroyed a large part of the infrastructure including water, electricity and road networks, in addition to thousands of homes and public facilities.
鈥淩afah faces a humanitarian tragedy,鈥 he said, as Palestinians across the territory are beginning to discover the scope of the destruction in the first hours of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Macron says France will work on full implementation of the ceasefire
PARIS 鈥 President Emmanuel Macron says France intends to work with other nations to ensure 鈥渢he full implementation鈥 of the Gaza ceasefire.
A statement Sunday from his office said Macron 鈥渋s delighted that the Israeli Cabinet approved the ceasefire agreement鈥 and that 鈥渉e warmly thanked the Egyptian, Qatari and American mediators who contributed to it.鈥
His office said Macron spoke Saturday by phone with the families of two French-Israeli hostages still in captivity, Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi.
The statement said their families 鈥渉ave been living for 15 months in an anguish that the entire French nation shares. ... Ohad and Ofer are now both on the first list of hostages to be released.鈥 Macron has said that the two are on the list of 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire deal.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau expressed concerns about the hostages鈥 health.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know in what condition they will return. We don鈥檛 know how many are alive or dead and, among the living, in what psychological state we鈥檒l find them in. But the hostages will be progressively released. It鈥檚 a good thing,鈥 he told French broadcaster BFMTV.
Trump's national security adviser praises Gaza ceasefire
WASHINGTON 鈥 President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 choice for national security adviser says the Gaza ceasefire deal should be 鈥渃elebrated.鈥
鈥淲e will see three women coming out alive,鈥 Michael Waltz, Trump鈥檚 pick to be his national security, told CBS of the first hostages set to be released. 鈥淗ad we not entered this, these people would have died.鈥
Waltz said the hostages held by Hamas have been captive longer than U.S. hostages held during the Iranian crisis in 1979, 鈥渂ut now we鈥檙e going to have a Reagan moment.鈥
That recalled those hostage being freed after 444 days when Ronald Reagan took office in 1981.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have President Trump being sworn-in as hostages are coming out alive,鈥 Waltz said.
The Associated Press
