Jubilant crowds gathered in the occupied West Bank to celebrate the release of 90 Palestinian prisoners, marking the first exchange under the Hamas-Israel ceasefire. Despite Israeli warnings, families and supporters welcomed the freed prisoners with cheers and flags, as they returned home after being detained for extended periods.

Ninety Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons, marking the first prisoner exchange as part of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire agreement. They were welcomed by large crowds of jubilant relatives, friends, and supporters upon their return to the occupied West Bank, following the release of three Israeli captives in Gaza.

At around 1 am local time on Monday (23:00 GMT), Red Cross buses carrying the 90 Palestinians arrived in Ramallah, where thousands of people gathered, despite Israeli forces warning that celebrations would be prohibited. Among the released were 69 women and 21 teenage boys, some as young as 12, from the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

Khalida Jarrar, 62, a prominent member of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was also freed. She had been held for six months in solitary confinement under “administrative detention,” a practice allowing Israeli authorities to detain individuals indefinitely without charge or trial.

In Ramallah, crowds lifted many of the released prisoners in a display of emotional support, with some waving the flags of various Palestinian factions, including Fatah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Earlier, three Israeli women captives, aged between 20 and 30, were released in Gaza, marking the exchange’s first phase. Bushra al-Tawil, a Palestinian journalist who had been imprisoned in Israel since March 2024, was also among the released prisoners. She shared that her journey started at 3 am on Sunday (01:00 GMT), when she was moved from one prison to another in preparation for her release. Tawil expressed hope that her father, also imprisoned by Israel, would be freed soon as part of the ongoing deal.

Amanda Abu Sharkh, 23, from Ramallah, attended the gathering to witness the emotional reunions, stating that all the released prisoners felt like family, regardless of blood relations. Muhammad, 20, also expressed his joy at seeing families reunited, having been recently released from Israel’s Ofer Prison himself.

The exchange, the first of its kind since November 2023, raises the question of how many more Palestinians will be freed under the ceasefire deal. Estimates suggest that between 1,000 and 2,000 Palestinians may be released over the course of the agreement. In the initial phase, Hamas is expected to release 33 Israeli captives within the next 42 days, with the next release scheduled for Saturday. A second phase of ceasefire negotiations is planned to begin in two weeks.

Since the conflict began on October 7, more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, and nearly 90 percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced due to Israeli evacuation orders and attacks.