Israel frees 90 Palestinian women, minors from prison on day two of Gaza ceasefire

Israel has freed 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, more than seven hours after three Israeli hostages were released by Hamas and returned to Israel.

A large bus carrying dozens of Palestinian detainees exited the gates of Israel’s Ofer prison in the early hours of Monday morning, just outside the West Bank city of Ramallah.

According to a list provided by the Palestinian Authority’s Commission for Prisoners’ Affairs, all of those released are women or minors.

Israel detained them for what it said were offences related to national security, from throwing stones to more serious accusations like attempted murder.

The release comes on the second day of a three-phase ceasefire which started on Sunday morning.

The truce was supposed to start at 07:30CET but was delayed to 10:15CET after Israel refused to implement it as it hadn’t received the names of the hostages Hamas intended to release.

Phase one of the ceasefire will see Hamas release 33 captives over six weeks in return for hundreds of Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons.

Hamas released three Israeli women on Sunday – Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher – who were handed to Red Cross staff in Gaza City before being transferred to the Israeli military.

All three are currently receiving treatment in a hospital in Tel Aviv and are said to be in a stable condition. 

Israel is expected to release 30-50 Palestinians in exchange for every Hamas hostage.

Phase two of the deal cover steps towards a permanent end to the fighting in Gaza. It would see Hamas release the remaining hostages with Israel agreeing to free around 1,000 Palestinians.

The Israeli military will also complete a full troop withdrawal of Gaza during this phase.

The third and final phase covers Gaza’s reconstruction with Hamas expected to hand over the bodies of hostages who died in captivity in return for a plan for rebuilding the Strip from Israel.

Hamas triggered the war in October 2023 with its cross-border attack into Israel that saw some 1,200 people killed and 250 others taken as hostages back to Gaza.

Israel responded with a devastating offensive that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half the dead.

The conflict has destabilised the Middle East and sparked küresel protests as well as highlighting political tensions inside Israel.