What we know about the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced early Friday that his government had approved US President Donald Trump’s plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of all remaining hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

The statement said that the Cabinet approved the “broad outlines” of the hostage release deal, without mentioning other, more controversial aspects of the plan. The release of hostages and prisoners is expected to begin on Sunday or Monday.

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s chief negotiator on the Gaza conflict, said the US military confirmed the withdrawal of Israeli soldiers as part of the ceasefire agreement on Friday.

“The 72-hour period to release the hostages has begun,” Witkoff wrote on social media at 7 a.m. ET.

• This Sunday,Cross-country screeningHe wonders: What is at stake for you in the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas? What questions do you have about the deal? Fill This model You can appear on the show or read your commentary on air.

At his Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump said that releasing the hostages was a complex process. Adding, “They’re in places you don’t want to be.”

Details about how the exchange works are still few. Here’s what we know.

48 hostages and 1,950 prisoners

The agreement stipulates that within 72 hours of the army’s redeployment, all 48 hostages will be released from the Gaza Strip and handed over to Israeli security forces.

Of the 48 hostages, 20 are known to be alive. Hamas indicated that recovering the bodies of some of the dead hostages may take longer, as not all burial sites are known.

Gal Hirsch, Israel’s hostage affairs coordinator, said Thursday that an international force would help find the remains of any dead hostages that Hamas cannot locate.

After releasing the hostages, Israel will release 250 Palestinians convicted or suspected of security crimes, in addition to 1,700 adults and 22 minors arrested in Gaza during the war, and the bodies of 360 fighters.

Palestinians detained in Gaza will be released and returned to Gaza. Prisoners convicted of killing Israelis will be released to Gaza or deported abroad, and will be permanently banned from entering the West Bank and Israel.

Facilitated by the Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross will facilitate the exchange. The ICRC participated in the release of prisoners and hostages in the two previous ceasefire agreements during the war.

In a job On their websiteThe Red Cross explains that once an agreement has been reached between the parties to the conflict, their role is to facilitate the safe transfer of the released hostages out of the Gaza Strip to an agreed location.

In an interview with the Associated Press, the Red Cross said the expected release of hostages and prisoners would be more difficult than previous ones given the scale and speed of the operation.

Christian Cardone, chief spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said Friday that while the group is expected to play a role in the release of hostages from Gaza and Palestinian prisoners from Israel, no details have been provided on when, how or where the hostages will be released.

“Our colleagues are preparing themselves for all possible scenarios,” Cardone said.

He said the terms of the deal, which call for the hostages to be released from Gaza within 72 hours, were a “very tight” time frame.

Marwan Barghouti Not on the prisoner list

Hamas demands the release of a number of the most prominent Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.

The list of those prisoners published by Israel on Friday did not include prominent prisoner Marwan Barghouti, a hugely popular Palestinian leader who spent more than two decades in prison over deadly attacks.

According to The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post, the list also does not include PPopular Front leader Ahmed Saadat or senior Hamas figures Ibrahim Hamed and Hassan Salama.

But it is said that it includes Raad al-Sheikh, a Palestinian police officer who participated in a lynching in Ramallah, and Iyad Abu al-Rub, an Islamic Jihad leader in Jenin who was behind several deadly attacks, write: Jerusalem Post.

According to The Times of IsraelSAs for the 250 prisoners, 15 of them will be released to East Jerusalem, 100 to the West Bank, and 135 of them are scheduled to be deported.