Israel has released some Palestinian prisoners in accordance with the agreement reached with Hamas on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported citing the Israeli Prison Service.
Israel releases 90 Palestinian prisoners
The released Palestinians include 78 residents of the West Bank and 12 residents of East Jerusalem. According to the Ynet portal, among them are 69 women, including one minor, 8 male minors and 12 men convicted of relatively minor offences.
The ceasefire in the Gaza Strip went into effect on Sunday, with three hostages already returned to Israel. The implementation of the agreement has three phases. The first is for 42 days. During this time, the ceasefire will be in effect and Israeli forces will leave the most densely populated areas of the Strip and withdraw to the enclave’s borders.
Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages, including women and elderly citizens, while Israel will release 1,890 Palestinian prisoners. If the conditions of the first phase are successfully fulfilled, the parties are expected to agree on further phases.
Aid trucks enter Gaza amid fragile ceasefire
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 915 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip on Monday, the second day of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants after 15 months of war.
Amid the truce, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) immediately began its operations and humanitarian convoys entered Gaza early Sunday morning from both the Egyptian and Israeli sides. The ceasefire will allow the agency to deliver food in unprecedented volumes to prevent famine in the war-torn enclave.
WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain stressed that her agency’s goal is to send at least 150 truckloads of food to Gaza every day. She said:
“After 15 months of war, we need all border crossings to remain open and functioning efficiently, effectively and reliably. And we need humanitarian teams to be able to move freely and safely through Gaza and reach those in need of assistance.”
