200 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for 4 Israeli female soldiers

Some 200 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli prisons today, as part of the second batch of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, which began on 19th January.

According to the Palestinian Commission for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs, the release took place from the Negev desert prison, and 70 prisoners were transferred to the Kerem Shalom Border Crossing in the southern Gaza Strip in preparation for deportation outside the Palestinian territories.

This came as part of a prisoner swap deal that included the handover of four Israeli female soldiers who had been held in Gaza since the beginning of the war last October. The female soldiers were handed over to the International Red Cross before being transferred to Israel.

Despite the completion of this stage of the exchange deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to prevent Gazans from crossing into the northern Gaza Strip until the fate of 28-year-old hostage Arbel Yehud is revealed.

Hamas confirmed and informed the mediators that Yehud is still alive and will be released next Saturday, according to the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post.

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