Emotional scenes in West Bank and Gaza as Palestinians reunited with their families after release from Israeli prisons
8 February 2025, 17:23 | Updated: 8 February 2025, 17:30
A total of 183 Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons on Saturday in the fifth swap of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
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Seven Palestinians had to be taken to hospital immediately after being freed, and others told of the horrific treatment they endured while imprisoned in Israeli jails.
The prisoners, who were being held in several prisons across Israel, were taken to Ramallah. More than 100 of them returned to Gaza.
One of the released Palestinians, a healthcare worker named Hussein Alhaj Hassan, likened the prison he was held in to the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison.
As he had an emotional reunion with his mother, he showed large scars on his legs, which he said were a result of beatings by Israeli prison guards.
“They took me along with dozens of people. My problem was I worked for the Ministry of Health. It’s been a year and one day – beatings, torture, and struggle in Ofer Prison,” Alhaj Hassan told Al Jazeera.
“They blindfolded us and beat us – my hands – during interrogation. No medical treatment, no winter clothing. It was very harsh treatment. It was like we were in Guantanamo Bay prison.”
His mother told the publication that having her son back was the ‘best feeling’, and that she hopes “all the remaining prisoners will be released as well”.
“This is the most beautiful of days to see him alive. We didn’t know anything about his whereabouts.”
Other prisoners released had to be taken to hospital immediately “as a result of the brutality they were subjected to during the past months,” Abdullah al-Zaghari, head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club NGO, told the AFP news agency.
One of the released Palestinians also told Al Jazeera: “For the past 15 months, we were exposed to the most brutal torture … the Israelis treated us in inhumane ways. They treated animals better than us.”
Read more: 'We won't gloss over the shocking scenes', warns Netanyahu as three freed by Hamas paraded on stage
Scores of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons showed signs of ‘unprecedented’ torture and starvation after they were released, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.
Hadeel Shatara, a Palestinian who was released in the first swap on January 20, highlighted that all those who come out of different Israeli prisons tell the same stories of brutal treatment.
“They turned these prisons into big brutal inhumane entities,” Shatara told Al Jazeera, after being held for seven months in Haifa prison.
“We were really mistreated. All the other prisoners released in the next exchange shared similar experiences. We women prisoners were dragged by our hair.”
Three Israeli hostages were released by Hamas this morning, and have also been reunited with their families.
The hostages, Eli Sharabi, 52; Ohad Ben Ami, 56; and Or Levy, 34, appeared thin and gaunt as they were paraded on stage by Hamas.
They were surrounded by gunmen as they were interviewed, reportedly calling for Israel to stop the war and for the ceasefire to hold.
Returning hostages, Or Levy and Ohad Ben-Ami, being received by the IDF pic.twitter.com/H96lPQxuJ0
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) February 8, 2025
Speaking after their release, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said: "We will not gloss over the shocking scenes that we saw today."
Posting on X, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: "After 491 days of agony, 3 more hostages - including Eli Sharabi who has strong UK links - have finally been released.
"They and their families have suffered an unimaginable ordeal.
"The ceasefire deal must be implemented in full, including the release of the remaining hostages."
It is the fifth swap of hostages for prisoners since the ceasefire began on January 19. Eighteen hostages and more than 550 Palestinian prisoners have already been freed in that time.
The first phase of the ceasefire calls for the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 prisoners, the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid to the devastated territory.
Last week, wounded Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza for Egypt for the first time since May.
