Israel will not begin releasing Palestinian prisoners due to be released in exchange for the release of hostages in Gaza until it receives confirmation that all prisoners, dead and alive, have been returned to the country, Israeli Prime Minister Shosh Bedrosian's spokeswoman said today.
"The Palestinian prisoners whose release is planned in the exchange will be released when Israel receives confirmation that all of our hostages, whose release is planned for tomorrow, have crossed the border into Israel," Bedrosian said.
She added that when Israel receives this confirmation, the prisoners will already be on buses, and that they will head towards the Gaza Strip when subsequent confirmation arrives that the hostages of the Palestinian group Hamas have entered Israeli territory.
Israeli authorities expect the release of Hamas hostages in the Gaza Strip for more than two years to begin tomorrow morning, one of the phases of a plan to end the war that has been raging in the area since October 2023.
Hamas, under the plan proposed by United States President (US) Donald Trump, must release the remaining 47 hostages, alive or dead, who were kidnapped on October 7, 2023, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during the previous war in Gaza by noon on Monday.
"We expect that the 20 hostages who are still alive will be released simultaneously and handed over to the Red Cross, and then transported in several vehicles," Bedrosian added.
The hostages will be taken to areas of Gaza controlled by Israel, whose army claims to have withdrawn to agreed lines inside the territory on Friday, October 10, in accordance with a ceasefire agreement.
They will then be transferred to the Reim base in southern Israel, where they will be reunited with their families, and then transferred to several hospitals in different parts of the country.
Bedrosian also stated that, regarding the remains of the hostages, "an international body, agreed upon as part of the plan, will assist in finding the (dead) hostages if they are not found and released tomorrow."
Of the Palestinians to be released, 250 were arrested "for security reasons" and convicted of anti-Israeli attacks, while plans are also underway to release 1.700 Palestinians who have been arrested by the Israeli army in Gaza since the start of the war.
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