ISTANBUL

Israeli authorities began Saturday transferring Palestinian prisoners to two detention facilities ahead of their planned release under the Gaza ceasefire agreement, local media reported.

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said prisoners set to be released to the Gaza Strip or deported through the Rafah border crossing were moved to Ketziot Prison in the desert area of southern Israel.

Those expected to be freed from the occupied West Bank were taken to Ofer Prison, west of Ramallah, it added.

Under the deal, 2,000 Palestinian prisoners — including 250 serving life sentences and 1,700 detained in Gaza since the war began in October 2023 — will be released in exchange for 48 Israeli hostages.

Israel’s Justice Ministry on Friday published the names of the 250 prisoners serving life terms.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office, affiliated with Hamas, denied reaching a consensus on the lists of prisoners included in the exchange.

The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect Friday at noon local time (0900GMT). Israeli forces completed a gradual withdrawal to the so-called yellow line that afternoon, triggering the 72-hour window for the exchange process.

A second phase of the plan reportedly envisions creating a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas, forming a joint security force of Palestinians and troops from Arab and Islamic countries, and disarming Hamas.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 67,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave uninhabitable.