Palestinians Celebrate Freed Prisoners as Heroes, Praise Hamas

Palestinians Celebrate Freed Prisoners as Heroes, Praise Hamas

Thousands of Palestinians sang praises of Hamas on Saturday as they greeted prisoners released under an agreement to cease fire between Hamas militants and Israel, which included four Israeli hostages returning to their homes.

In Ramallah, within the Israeli-dominated West Bank, many carried liberated prisoners on their shoulders amid a cheering crowd who had waited for hours for buses transporting detainees to show up.

A few people were seen waving Palestinian flags or banners and flags of Palestinian factions, including Hamas, the ruling group in Gaza and its ally, Iran-backed Islamic Jihad, and the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinians Celebrate Freed Prisoners as Heroes, Praise Hamas

Within Gaza European Hospital in the south of the enclave, where detainees who were released were undergoing medical examinations, The crowds poured in to welcome them. They chanted Allahu Akbar, “God is greatest,” and “Greeting to Qassam Brigades (Hamas armed wing).”

Ikhlas Balousha, a Gazan woman, claimed that her brother’s release brought her joy despite what she described as”the destruction of suffering, starvation, and genocide that has been racked up in the enclave.

“A feeling of dignity, joy, a feeling of victory despite the pain – a moment when you could have been a martyr, but praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, who allowed us to see him,” she spoke to Reuters.

The 200 Palestinians who were released on Saturday are militants, including some who are on life sentences, for their role in a series of attacks that killed dozens, according to a report released by Hamas.

GAZANS WAIT TO GO BACK HOME NORTH

Some were freed in The West Bank, while others were returned to Gaza, which was destroyed in the aftermath of 15 months of conflict. People considered the most threatening by Israel were sent to Egypt before being deported to a third nation.

“I did not doubt that I would be liberated one day. I was confident of that,” said Mohammad Al-Arda, sentenced to 15 years of life imprisonment and 15 years of life in prison for his involvement in Islamic Jihad. The prisoner was released in 2021 after he climbed from prison using an improvised tunnel along with three other inmates.

“We were in solitary confinement, under pressure and pain. I swear to God that when I saw the happiness of my people I became happy too, a happiness that words can’t describe,” he added when he returned to Ramallah.

Israel declares that people found guilty of murdering Israelis are not allowed to go back to their homes. About 70 people will be deported to Egypt, Palestinian officials said and, from there, on to another place, which could be Turkey, Qatar or Algeria. Palestinians consider prisoners “heroes” and “freedom fighters.”

Naser Dawoud Naser Dawoud, a Hamas militant who served nearly 21 years behind bars, serving a two-life sentence for his involvement in the attacks against Israel sa, said he could not believe that his name was one of the people who were released.

“I am a human being and was sentenced for life, I didn’t expect this to happen, there were some efforts before, but this time God blessed us,” the man told Reuters.

Within the Gaza Strip in the Gaza Strip, doctors from the European Gaza hospital in Khan Younis started checking the health of the prisoners recently released.

In a statement following the release of Israeli hostages, Hamas claimed that it safeguarded the health of hostages even as “the enemy tried to kill them (hostages).”

Certain prisoners who were released from northern Gaza are expected to remain in the enclave’s south for a while until Israel permits the hundreds of thousands of Gaza north citizens to be allowed back home under the conditions of the ceasefire agreement.

Hamas stated that it was waiting for Israel to respect the terms of the agreement by immediately dismantling troops from the roads that divide the south and north of the enclave, allowing approximately 650,000 residents to return to their houses in northern parts of the.

Witnesses claimed there was an outbreak of violence on the road that leads to the north. The road was slowed by Israeli soldiers who fired.

Medical personnel said that one person was killed in the area through the suspected Israeli fire, which is one of the few deaths that have been reported since the truce was signed. Two others were wounded.

In an official statement that was released, the Israeli military stated that in the center of the Gaza Strip, IDF troops discovered several gatherings of suspects who were threatening and fired warning shots in response to the threat. It added that, as of now, it is unaware of any injury to suspects due to the firing.

Source: Reuters