The released prisoners were met by hundreds of jubilant Palestinians in Ramallah [Zain Jaafar/AFP via Getty]
A “return from death to life” – that is how Palestinian detainees freed on Saturday as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal described their release from Israeli prison.
Hamas released three Israeli captives on Saturday in exchange for 369 Palestinian inmates freed by Israel, completing the sixth swap despite fears the Gaza truce deal was near collapse.
The Palestinian detainees arrived in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank after being released from the nearby Ofer prison. They were welcomed by hundreds of relatives, friends and well-wishers waiting for their arrival, as they chanted slogans and waved flags.
The detainees were forced to wear white shirts bearing the Star of David – Israel’s symbol – with the phrase “We do not forget and do not forgive” written in Arabic, in reference to the October 7, 2023, attack led by Hamas in southern Israel.
Hamas says the attack, in which 1,139 people died and 251 were taken hostage, came in response to Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian and aggression against the Palestinian people.
Hamas aimed to swap these captives for Palestinian prisoners and pressure Israel to end its siege on the Gaza Strip since 2007.
More than 61,000 Palestinians were killed in Israel’s ensuing war on Gaza, which utterly devastated the territory.
Speaking to the Anadolu Agency, freed prisoner Khaled Ghaleb Abu Hanoud described his release from prison as a “return from death,” saying he felt he was born again after coming out of “a grave called prison”.
The situation in Israeli detention is “closer to death than to life,” he says.
Abu Hanoud, from the town of Asira al-Shamaliya near Nablus, was sentenced to life by Israel and had spent 22 years behind bars.
He praised the Palestinian resistance and people in Gaza and said their sacrifices were to thank for his freedom, saying: “No matter how much we describe them, we remain powerless, and we will remain loyal to them and to all the free people of the world who supported us.”
Ibrahim Sarahneh was another prisoner released on Saturday. He was sentenced to six life sentences and has spent 23 years in prison.
Lost for words, he said his freedom is “a new birth and a new day that cannot be described”.
Mazen al-Qadi, who hails from Al-Bireh and was also among the hundreds freed on Saturday, wished his father was still alive to witness the moment.
Al-Qadi was sentenced to three life terms and spent 25 years behind bars.
“For 23 years, I have been waiting for this moment, and I remember my father…and I wish he was with me now,” he told Anadolu, as he hoped “the Palestinian people and all prisoners will get their freedom”.
Hassan Owais from the Jenin camp, which has been under an Israeli military assault since last month, said: “We have always been optimistic that the day when we will be liberated is coming, and my joy is indescribable”.
“The prisoners are hopeful that [their] day of freedom will come,” he said, referring to those still in Israeli detention.
Owais, who took part in the Battle of Jenin in April 2002, was pursued by Israel for months before being detained, and said he was subject to harsh interrogations before being sentenced to life.
He said that conditions in Israeli prison were extremely harsh and treatment was inhumane.
