CAIRO, January 30. /TASS/. The Palestinians who were supposed to be released from Israeli prisons in exchange for the return of hostages to Israel on Thursday will be freed at 3:00 p.m. GMT on January 30, the country’s Information Office for Prisoners' Affairs said in a statement.
Following negotiations with the intermediaries, it was decided that the prisoners will be released at 5:00 p.m. local time (3:00 p.m. GMT), the statement published on the agency’s official Telegram channel said.
On Thursday, Palestinian groups active in the Gaza Strip released eight hostages, including three Israeli citizens and five Thai nationals, while Israel was supposed to free 110 Palestinians from its prisons. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later ordered a temporary halt to the release until guarantees were secured for the safe transfer of hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza in subsequent stages of the ceasefire deal.
The agreement to cease fire in Gaza went into effect on January 19. On the same day, the first group of hostages was released, including three Israeli women. In turn, Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners. Early on January 25, four Israeli women, who were doing their compulsory service in the Israeli army, were released from captivity in the Gaza Strip, while Israel freed 200 Palestinian prisoners. Among them, 114 arrived in the West Bank, 16 returned to Gaza, and the rest 70 were deported to Egypt.