Iyad Nabolsi
20 January 2025•Update: 21 January 2025
ISTANBUL
Palestinian resistance group Hamas said Monday that the health condition of freed Palestinian prisoners reflected Israel’s “barbarity and fascism.”
The Israeli authorities released 90 Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, on Sunday night from Ofer Prison, west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, under the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement.
It came hours after Hamas released three female captives under the deal. Israeli media said that the three Israeli woman are in good health.
"Images of the three female captives showed that they were in full physical and psychological health, in contrast to our prisoners whose appearance showed signs of neglect and exhaustion,” Hamas said in a statement.
“This vividly illustrates the vast difference between the values and ethics of the resistance and the barbarity and fascism of the occupation,” it added.
Footage showed the freed Israeli captives in clean and tidy clothing and carrying “gift bags”, while signs of abuse and torture appeared on the faces of Palestinian women released from Israeli prisons.
"We congratulate our people, our nation, and freedom advocates worldwide on the liberation of the first group of our prisoners from the (Israeli) occupation prisons,” Hamas said.
"The joyous scenes of our people raising victory signs while welcoming their freed prisoners reaffirm popular support for the resistance and underscore its deeply rooted place in their hearts.
"The massive turnout of our people to greet the freed prisoners, despite the repressive measures of the occupation, is a declaration of defiance and an expression of their thirst for freedom and the liberation of land and holy sites," it added.
On Sunday, families of Palestinian prisoners gathered near Ofer Prison to welcome their beloved ones. The Israeli army fired tear gas to disperse them, fearing celebratory displays during the reception of the freed prisoners.
The ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal took effect on Sunday, suspending Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
The 3-phase deal includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Nearly 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 110,700 others injured in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli war has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
In November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala
