“The pictures of the three female prisoners being handed over to the enemy showed them in full physical and psychological health, while our male and female prisoners showed signs of neglect and exhaustion,” the statement read.
Ninety Palestinians have been freed from Israeli prisons and were greeted by large crowds of jubilant relatives, friends and supporters as they returned home to the occupied West Bank in the first prisoner exchange of the ceasefire between Tel Aviv and Hamas following the release of three Israeli captives in the besieged Gaza Strip.
On Monday, Red Cross buses carrying the 90 Palestinian prisoners arrived in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, where they were greeted by crowds of thousands despite warnings from Israeli forces that celebrations would not be allowed.
The freed Palestinians included 69 women and 21 teenage boys – some as young as 12 – from the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
Hours earlier, three Israeli women captives in their mid-20s to early 30s were released in Gaza.
In the first phase of the deal, Hamas is expected to return a total of 33 Israeli captives over the next 42 days – with the next release due on Saturday.
More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began on October 7, and nearly 90 percent of Gaza’s population has been forcibly displaced by Israeli evacuation orders and attacks.
