70 freed and ‘deported’ Palestinian prisoners reach Egypt

Seventy Palestinian prisoners arrived aboard buses in Egypt Saturday after being released from Israel as part of a Gaza ceasefire deal, state-linked Egyptian media reported.

Al-Qahera News, which is linked to state intelligence, said the prisoners were those “deported” by Israel, adding they would be transferred to Egyptian hospitals for treatment.

According to a list previously made public by Israeli authorities, more than 230 Palestinian prisoners to be released under the deal are serving life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis, and will be permanently expelled from the Palestinian territories upon their release.

Broadcasted footage on Saturday showed some of the prisoners, wearing grey tracksuits, disembarking from two buses on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza.

After transiting in Egypt, the deported prisoners “will choose either Algeria, Turkey or Tunisia” to reside, Amin Shuman, head of the Palestinian prisoners’ affairs committee, told AFP.

“It’s an indescribable feeling,” one of those released told Al-Qahera News, smiling and waving from the window of the bus.

The prisoners transferred from the Ktziot prison in Israel’s Negev desert into Egypt are part of a group of 200 prisoners released Saturday in exchange for four Israeli hostages freed by Hamas militants in Gaza.