Israel to release 737 Palestinian prisoners in first phase of truce deal

Israel's justice ministry has said 737 Palestinian prisoners and detainees will be freed as part of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal approved Saturday.

In a statement on its website, the justice ministry said "the government approves" the "release (of) 737 prisoners and detainees" currently in the custody of the prison service.

There are currently 10,400 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, not including detainees arrested in Gaza during the last 15 months of Tel Aviv's war on Gaza, according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees' Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners' Society.

Some of them have been in Israeli jails for decades now.

Zakaria Zubeidi, a commander of Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and a participant in a 2021 prison break in northern Israel, is among the Palestinian prisoners set for release under prisoner-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, according to the Times of Israel.

The Israeli justice ministry’s list notes Zubeidi will return to Jenin, his hometown in the northern West Bank.

Last year, the Israel killed his son Mohammed in a drone strike.