Hamas releases three Israeli prisoners as part of swap deal

IRNA – The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has released three Israeli prisoners as part of the sixth batch of the prisoner exchange deal with the Zionist regime.

According to a statement by the Israeli army, the three prisoners released in Khan Younis are now being escorted by military and intelligence officers to Israel.

The statement further said that they would undergo an initial medical evaluation after they enter Israel, Al Jazeera reported.

The al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, identified the three Israeli settlers as Sasha Alexander Trufanov, Sagi Dekel Han, and Yair Horn.

Upon their release, al-Qassam presented Dekel Han with a gold coin as a gift for his daughter, who was born four months after he was captured.

The Zionist regime and Hamas announced a three-phase ceasefire deal on January 15, following UN-endorsed indirect negotiations between the two sides, putting an end to over 15 months of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Under the first phase of the deal, which began on January 19 and would last 42 days, a total of 33 Israeli prisoners would be released including women and those over 50. For each Israeli prisoner, between 30 and 50 Palestinians would be released by Israel.

In a statement on Friday evening, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office said that 333 Palestinians, who were kidnapped after October 7, 2023, would be freed under the deal.

It added that 25 Palestinians sentenced to life imprisonment would also be sent to Gaza or abroad, while ten others from the occupied West Bank and one from occupied al-Quds would be released as well.

Hamas says received guarantees on swap deal

Meanwhile, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the group “forced” the Zionist regime to implement the prisoner swap agreement despite the occupation’s “usual procrastination.”

“Our demands are clear and embody the occupation implementing the agreement and committing to it, and we received new guarantees to achieve this,” Qassem said.

“We forced the occupation to implement what was required of it despite its usual procrastination, and the mediators in Qatar and Egypt are communicating with the U.S. administration to implement the humanitarian protocol.”

He added that Hamas remains committed to the ceasefire agreement and implementing all its stages according to the scheduled dates.

Further rebuking the Israeli regime’s delays in implementing its part of the deal, Qassem said the handover of the occupation prisoners has been carried out smoothly and in “a civilized manner that reflects Palestinian culture and the teachings of our religion.”

“We seek to implement the ceasefire agreement without any change and will not allow [changes] to happen, no matter the pressures,” the spokesman said.