A boy runs with a Palestinian flag near the displacement camp of Bureij in central Gaza Strip on Jan. 17, 2025, following the announcement of the cease-fire. (Credit: Eyad Baba/AFP)
Israel will release 737 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the first group of Israeli hostages during the initial phase of the Gaza cease-fire agreement approved Saturday by the Israeli government, the Justice Ministry announced.
As part of the first phase of the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas, "the government has approved the release of 737 prisoners and detainees in the custody of the prison administration," the ministry said in a statement.
Among those set to be released is Zakaria Zubeidi, a former leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the armed wing of the Fatah party, who has been implicated in several attacks against Israeli civilians and escaped an Israeli prison in 2021.
