183 Palestinians were released from Israel’s prison system on Saturday [Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images]
Officials from the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) were outraged on Saturday by the treatment of Palestinians being released from Israeli prison during Saturday’s captive exchange between Israel and Hamas.
Palestinian prisoners being released to the ICRC on Saturday from Ketziot Prison were handcuffed with their hands above their heads, and wearing a bracelet with Israeli symbols and the phrase “the eternal people never forget”.
According to a security source speaking with Israeli newspaper Haaretz, ICRC staff were shocked by the treatment.
183 Palestinian prisoners were released by Israel in exchange for three Israeli captives held in Gaza on Saturday, including 111 Palestinian detainees from Gaza held without trial.
Many of those who were released to the occupied West Bank had been involved in militant activity during the Second Intifada.
Many of the freed prisoners were taken to hospital for medical checks and treatment.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society said that with each release, “we find prisoners’ bodies reflecting the level of crimes committee against them, including torture that is unprecedented in its level after October 7.”
“Starvation crimes, systematic medical crimes, and the infection of a number of them [prisoners] with scabies, in addition to the severe beatings that the prisoners were subjected to before their release, which continued for days according to many of their testimonies, and which in some cases led to rib fractures,” it added.
Following the handover, the ICRC issued its own statement, saying that “prior to today’s operation, the ICRC reminded the parties of their responsibility to ensure transfers are carried out safely and with dignity.”
The ICRC said that its staff were on hand to provide medical support and that it conducts pre-departure interviews to ensure those set to be released are able to travel.
“As more families anxiously await news of their loved ones, the ICRC continues to call for the continued implementation of the agreement to allow more families to be reunited,” ICRC said.
The ICRC added that it “remains prepared to facilitate further release operations in the coming weeks, and to continue to bring critically needed aid into Gaza.”
