Turkiye welcomes 15 Palestinian detainees exiled by 'Israel'
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The prisoners are among those expected to be forced out of Gaza and the West Bank.
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Freed Palestinian prisoners wave from a bus as they arrive in the Gaza Strip after being released from Israeli prison, on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP)
15 Palestinian detainees freed as part of the first phase of the exchange deal between Hamas and "Israel" arrived in Turkiye from Gaza, Anadolu Agency reported.
Turkish Intelligence said the Palestinian detainees were sent to Turkiye from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing. RIA Novosti sources confirmed that the prisoners indeed arrived in Turkiye.
A Palestinian source said that seven of the prisoners arriving in Turkey were from occupied al-Quds, three from al-Khalil, two from Ramallah, two from Jenin, and one from Nablus.
70 Palestinian prisoners who had life sentences were sent to Egypt on January 25 after they were freed from occupation prisons.
Turkiye, Qatar, Malaysia, and Pakistan are set to receive 15 prisoners each out of the 70 freed detainees.
Four prisoner swaps so far
"Israel" and Hamas have completed four prisoner exchanges so far: 583 Palestinian detainees and prisoners in exchange for 18 Israeli captives in total.
The fourth and most recent exchange took place on February 1, when 111 detainees from Gaza and 72 prisoners who were serving life sentences were released in exchange for 3 Israeli captives.
The third exchange took place on January 30. It saw the release of 3 Israeli captives and 5 Thai nationals. In return, Gaza received 110 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in return.
The second exchange took place on January 25, when four female occupation soldiers were released in exchange for 200 Palestinian detainees and prisoners.
The first exchange took place on January 30, when Hamas released three Israeli women in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
Trump-Netanyahu meeting
Meanwhile, Netanyahu's office announced that "Israel" will send a delegation to Doha this week to "discuss technical details related to the continued implementation of the agreement."
Hamas has expressed its readiness to continue the second phase of the ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States.
The second phase aims to secure the release of remaining captives and a significant number of Palestinian prisoners and lay out steps toward ending the Israeli war, which has devastated the Palestinian territory of 2.4 million people.
