Israel on Monday released more than 250 Palestinian prisoners – mostly serving life sentences – and 1,700 Gazans who have been detained since the start of Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023.
In exchange, Hamas released the 20 remaining living hostages – and was to hand over the bodies of 28 deceased hostages – under a peace plan backed by US president Donald Trump.
There are more than 11,000 Palestinians in Israeli detention, according to the Israel Prison Service, of whom 87 per cent have never been charged or convicted.
Some high-profile detainees have been freed, others have not. While details have to be confirmed, these are the identities of some of those released on Monday and some who were not.
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Released:
Dr Hussam Abu Safiya
The most high-profile of the freed Palestinians is Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, who was arrested in December 2024 by Israeli forces during a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, after he refused to abandon patients when ordered to evacuate.
Israel claimed the hospital was a Hamas command centre and Dr Safiya was suspected of being a member of the movement. He was originally slated to remain in prison, but the Israelis appear to have had a change of mind.
Mahmoud Qawasmeh
Mahmoud Qawasmeh, a senior Hamas member who was freed in a 2011 prisoner exchange. Qawasmeh went on to allegedly plan the 2014 kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank, before being rearrested last year.
Iyad Abu al Rub
West Bank Islamic Jihad commander Iyad Abu al Rub was sentenced for plotting suicide bombings in Israel that killed 13 between 2003 and 2005.
Imad Qawasmeh
Imad Qawasmeh, a Hamas leader who was imprisoned for directing a double suicide bombing that killed 16 Israelis in 2004 and was sentenced to 16 life terms in prison.
Morad Bader Abdullah Adais
The 25-year-old Morad Bader Abdullah Adais was convicted of stabbing to death an Israeli woman in 2016 while he was a teenager.
Bilal Ajarmeh
Fatah’s Bilal Ajarmeh was arrested in 2003 and convicted of 17 shooting attacks along a highway in Israel.
Hilmi Abdul Karim Muhammad Hammash
He was sentenced for co-ordinating the 2004 Jerusalem Street bus suicide bombing that killed 11 and wounded 50 Israelis.
Ismail Hamdan
Fatah member Ismail Hamdan was imprisoned for the 2002 kidnapping and shooting to death of an Israeli.
Muhammad Nasser Sha’aban Abu Rabea
A Hamas militant, he has been serving a life sentence for the 2015 stabbing death of two Israeli civilians.
Not released:
Marwan Barghouti
Among the prisoners Israel has refused to release is one of the most high-profile: Marwan Barghouti. A supporter of the Oslo peace process and a member of the Palestinian legislative council, Fatah’s Barghouti led street protests against the Israeli occupation during the second intifada (2000-2005) until he was arrested in 2002. He was convicted and sentenced to life for attacks that killed five Israelis, despite his denial.
He challenged the legitimacy of the trial, and democracy campaigners argued the evidence used to convict him was not credible. If freed, it is likely Barghouti could challenge the current Fatah leadership under Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas. Fatah has been accused of mismanagement, corruption and collaborating with Israeli security.
Ahmed Sa’adat
Leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Sa’adat was sentenced to 30 years after being convicted in 2008 of heading an “illegal terrorist organisation” and involvement in multiple attacks, including the assassination of Israeli minister Ravahim Ze’evi in 2001. Sa’adat has abandoned the “two-state solution” for the emergence of a Palestinian state alongside Israel and supports “one state” for both peoples.
Ibrahim Hamed
Also remaining in Israeli custody is Hamas’s West Bank chief Ibrahim Hamed, sentenced to 45 life terms for orchestrating the killings of Israelis during the second intifada.
Abbas al-Sayed
He is accused of plotting the 2002 bombing that killed 39 Israelis at the Park Hotel in Netanya.
Hassan Salameh
Hamas’s Hassan Salameh is serving 48 life terms for several suicide bombings.
