Seven hours after Hamas freed three of the Israeli hostages, about 90 Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons at midnight last night.
The exchange of prisoners is part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which was mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
The agreement stipulates that the Israeli hostages will be exchanged by Hamas for the release of 30 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons, a ceasefire in Gaza, aid will be allowed in Gaza and the Israeli army will begin leaving Gaza.
The buses carrying the Palestinian prisoners reached the city of Ramallah at 1 am last night, where thousands of Palestinians waved the Palestinian and Hamas flags and welcomed them with celebrations and celebrations.
As for Israel, three of the detainees were reunited with their families on Sunday. The three hostages are Romi Gonen, 24, who was kidnapped at the Nova music festival, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, who were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
The second round of prisoner releases is scheduled to take place next Saturday, when it is expected that 33 of the detainees will be released, while Israel will release approximately 2,000 Palestinians from its prisons. The first phase of the ceasefire is expected to last for 42 days.
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