Two prisoner exchanges have taken place in Palestinian territories since the Israeli state and Palestinian forces entered into a ceasefire agreement. The first release took place on January 19, and the second on January 25. This exchange is part of the first phase of the agreement which stated that Hamas will hand over 33 of the approximately 100 individuals still in its custody, in exchange for Israel’s release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian political prisoners.

On January 25, Hamas freed four Israeli female soldiers at a large gathering in Palestine Square in Gaza City. Hundreds of Al-Qassam Brigade fighters, the Hamas army, along with Al-Quds Brigade fighters, an Islamic Jihad army, poured into the city to ensure the security of the gathering. Israel pulverized this area with airstrikes and attempted to occupy it. According to observers, the appearance of hundreds of fighters refuted their so-called defeat, as disseminated by Israeli forces.

Wearing their Israeli Defense Forces uniforms, the four female soldiers said goodbye to Gaza on a stage in front of hundreds of Palestinian fighters and civilians who celebrated their release. They were handed over to the International Red Cross, which also took the stage to sign the release documents. They then boarded a helicopter so they could quickly be with their families in Israel.

On the same day, Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners, including 120 sentenced to life imprisonment. The 114 of them were welcomed in the West Bank, while 16 were freed in Gaza. They were greeted by a large number of Palestinians waving Palestinian the flags and chants for justice and liberation, defying Israel’s ban on any celebration on the occasion of their release. The youngest of those released was a 16-year-old Palestinian civilian, while the oldest was 69 years old. Some 70 political prisoners were also released on the condition that they not remain in Palestine and were handed to Egyptian custody.

Prior to this, Hamas handed over three individuals on January 19, the day the ceasefire took effect. In response, Israel released 90 Palestinian political prisoners, mostly women and minors.

In the past 15 months, since Hamas launched the Al Aqsa Flood, it has freed a total of 117 individuals it held. Among these are 105 who went through various agreements for prisoner exchange, four were unilaterally released, and eight were recovered by the IDF.