Zein Khalil, Betul Yilmaz, and Rania Abu Shamala
11 October 2025•Update: 12 October 2025
ISTANBUL
Israeli authorities on Saturday transferred Palestinian prisoners to two detention facilities ahead of their planned release under a Gaza ceasefire agreement, local media reported.
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said prisoners set to be released to Gaza or deported through the Rafah border crossing were moved to Ketziot Prison in the Negev in southern Israel.
Those expected to be freed from the occupied West Bank were taken to Ofer Prison, west of Ramallah, it added.
The Israeli Prison Service confirmed that it has completed the transfer of Palestinian prisoners to the facilities from which they will be released.
Daily Yedioth Ahronoth, citing the prison service, said thousands of prison police officers took part in the operation, during which the prisoners were transported in dozens of convoys under tight security.
Local media said that the releases are expected to begin on Monday once Israel recovers its captives held by Hamas.
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 for the exchange.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office, affiliated with Hamas, denied reaching a consensus on the lists of prisoners included in the exchange.
Tel Aviv estimates that 48 Israelis are being held in Gaza, including 20 still alive, while more than 11,100 Palestinians are imprisoned in Israel, many of whom suffer from torture, starvation, and medical neglect – conditions that have led to deaths, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports
Phase one of the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect at midday Friday. Israeli forces completed a gradual withdrawal to the so-called yellow line that afternoon, triggering a 72-hour window for the exchange process.
Phase two 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 almost 67,700 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave largely uninhabitable.
