When Palestinian militants led by Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, capturing some 250 people, it immediately raised a problem.

It has become of vital importance to much of Israeli society.

The prisoners quickly became a symbol for Israelis, used to justify Israel’s brutal war on Gaza – which has so far resulted in the deaths of more than 46,800 Palestinians. But the issue has also divided Israelis, with many supporting and especially those opposed Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuHe insisted that the government had not done enough to reach an agreement that would lead to their release.

Now that a Ceasefire agreement As agreed, the nightmare of captivity may be coming to an end for detainees in Gaza.

How many prisoners will be released from Gaza?

There are believed to still be approximately 100 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, all of whom are expected to be released if the agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement is fully implemented.

But not everyone will be released at once. It is expected that 33 prisoners will be released in the first six-week phase of the deal on a gradual basis in exchange for their release. Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Among the Israeli prisoners who will be released at this stage are some sick and wounded, in addition to female soldiers and men over the age of 50.

Egypt said that those released in the first stage would be exchanged for 1,890 Palestinian prisoners. Israel said it would release 95 Palestinians, all women and children, on the first day of the ceasefire on Sunday.

The remaining prisoners, who are all believed to be male soldiers, will be released in later stages of the ceasefire agreement, in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners.

What do we know about the identities of the released prisoners?

No official list of the names of Israeli prisoners who will be released in the first phase has yet been published, and although the identities of the prisoners still in Gaza are known, it is unclear who is still alive.

In fact, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the ceasefire would not begin until Israel receives the list of prisoners to be released.

Hamas said a number of Israeli prisoners were killed in Israeli attacks on the sites where they were being held, but videos were also published along with messages from some of the prisoners.

While all of the remaining prisoners are Israeli, some hold dual citizenship, including from the United States, Argentina and Germany.

It is believed that five of the female prisoners are female soldiers who were captured during raids on October 7.

Two of the prisoners expected to be released in the first phase are Israelis who were captured in Gaza before October 7, and spent years in the Strip.

What will the delivery process be like?

While Israeli forces have released some prisoners in military operations that killed dozens of Palestinian civilians, more than 100 – the vast majority of those who left Gaza – were released as part of a temporary ceasefire in 2013. November 2023.

During this prisoner exchange, Palestinian fighters transferred the released prisoners to the Red Cross, and then handed them over to Israeli forces.

Israel has prepared medical teams to receive the prisoners, and the head of the health team at the Hostage Families Forum, Hagai Levin, expects that many of them will suffer from cardiovascular and respiratory problems after spending a long period underground in the tunnels.

How important is their family in Israel?

The issue of prisoners has been a central topic in Israel and among supporters of Israel since the start of the war.

The release of prisoners was one of Israel’s primary war goals, but it also contradicted one of its other stated goals: the complete defeat of Hamas.

This is because Hamas has offered to release prisoners since the war began as part of a deal that would end the war, a request that the Israeli prime minister had consistently rejected until recently.

In fact, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, announced that he had been able to use his political power to prevent any agreement over the past year, putting at its core the goal of defeating Hamas and building peace. Illegal Israeli settlements in Gaza above the release of prisoners in a prisoner exchange deal. Ben Gvir is now expected to follow up on this On his promise to resign If the deal is executed.

However, the return of the prisoners is the basic demand of many Israelis. Their images are displayed on posters across Israel, and the demand to “bring them home now” is regularly heard at protests. A square in Tel Aviv was renamed “Hostage Square” and became a focal point for demonstrations.

Members of the prisoners’ families have repeatedly entered into disputes with members of the Israeli government, and a movement representing them promised to continue pressing for the release of the prisoners. “We won’t let them [far-right ministers] “Sabotaging the full implementation of the agreement,” a spokesman at an event in support of the ceasefire agreement on Saturday said.