Tears and embraces welcome 90 Palestinian women and children released from Israeli jails.

Ninety Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons and welcomed by large assemblies of joyful relatives, friends, and supporters upon their return to the occupied West Bank in the initial prisoner exchange of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire after the release of three Israeli captives in Gaza.

Around 1am local time on Monday (23:00 GMT), Red Cross vehicles transporting 90 Palestinian detainees reached Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. They were welcomed by thousands of people, even after Israeli forces warned that celebrations would be prohibited. The released Palestinians consisted of 69 women and 21 teenage boys, with some being as young as 12, from the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

Included in this group was Khalida Jarrar, 62, a prominent figure in the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who had spent six months in solitary confinement due to “administrative detention,” a practice that permits Israeli officials to imprison suspects indefinitely without any charges or judicial ruling.

In the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, crowds hoisted many of the released prisoners onto their shoulders in a touching display of solidarity, while others cheered and whistled. A few participants at the event brought the flags of Fatah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and various other militant groups. Seven hours prior, three Israeli female captives aged in their twenties to early thirties were freed in Gaza.

Bushra al-Tawil, a Palestinian reporter imprisoned in Israel since March 2024, was one of the inmates freed on Monday.

Tawil mentioned that she started her journey at 3am on Sunday morning (01:00 GMT), when she was transferred from a different Israeli prison prior to her release. In the second prison, she was placed with other Palestinians waiting for release. Tawil mentioned that her father, also imprisoned in Israel, will be released shortly as well. The precise number of Palestinians set to be released under the ceasefire agreement remains unclear, with estimates ranging from around 1,000 to almost 2,000.

During the initial stage of the agreement, Hamas is anticipated to free 33 Israeli captives within the upcoming 42 days, with the next release scheduled for Saturday. The next round of ceasefire talks is set to start in two weeks. Since the war started on October 7, over 46,000 Palestinians have died, and almost 90 percent of Gaza’s residents have been forcibly displaced due to Israeli evacuation orders and assaults.