Hamas says 2,000 Palestinians to be released under agreement with Israel

Around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 250 serving life sentences, will be released from Israeli prisons under an agreement reached between Hamas and Israel, a representative of the Hamas leadership told TASS.

“In the first stage of the deal, a group of 20 hostages will be freed, and in return, the [Israeli] occupation authorities will release more than 2,000 Palestinian detainees, including 250 sentenced to life imprisonment,” said a Hamas official, as quoted by the Maan news agency.

The official added that among those to be released are 1,700 Palestinians imprisoned after the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023.