Israel to Release 628 Palestinian Prisoners, Including 50 Serving Life Sentences

The Israeli army radio reported on Wednesday that Israel will release 628 Palestinian prisoners, including 50 serving life sentences, 47 who were re-arrested after being released in the “Wafa Al-Ahrar” deal, and 445 detained during the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

In exchange, Palestinian resistance factions will hand over the remains of four Israeli prisoners in Gaza on Thursday and will release six living detainees next Saturday. On Wednesday, Saraya Al-Quds, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, announced that it would hand over the remains of Israeli hostage Oded Lifshitz on Thursday.

Additionally, Abu Bilal, the spokesperson for Al-Mujahideen Brigades, stated that the bodies of the Bibas family would be handed over on Thursday as part of the first phase of the prisoner exchange agreement with the resistance.

Meanwhile, the military spokesperson for Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Ubaida, confirmed that “the remains of the Bibas family and the body of prisoner Oded Lifshitz will be handed over tomorrow, Thursday,” adding that “the mentioned prisoners were alive before the occupation’s aircraft deliberately bombed their detention sites.”

In the same context, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Thursday would be a “painful day” for Israel as it receives the bodies of four Israeli detainees from Gaza under the ceasefire agreement. According to a statement from his office, Netanyahu said: “Tomorrow (Thursday) will be an extremely difficult day for the State of Israel, a painful day, a day of mourning. We will bring back home four of our beloved hostages who have passed away.”

This comes after the Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported on Tuesday evening that Netanyahu had officially decided to start negotiations for the second phase of the agreement. However, the report noted that Netanyahu aims to achieve several objectives in the talks, including disarming the Gaza Strip and removing Hamas, without providing further details.

Meanwhile, about two weeks after former U.S. President Donald Trump announced his plan to deport Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to other countries, the Israeli occupation continues its efforts to implement the idea, despite several parties—including Israeli sources—asserting that such forced displacement is impossible, along with the outright rejection of the plan by Gaza residents, Palestinian leaders, and Arab countries.

The Hebrew Channel 12 website reported on Wednesday that Israeli security agencies have begun drafting a plan for what they call “voluntary migration,” outlining the stages that the occupation is planning behind the scenes and the main challenges to its implementation.

While Israeli media has increasingly highlighted the issue since Trump’s remarks, it is worth noting that Israeli officials and ministers had already made statements about genocide and displacement since the start of the ongoing war on October 7, 2023. This indicates that expulsion plans have long been on Israel’s agenda, as confirmed by conferences held by settler organizations with the participation of government coalition ministers and Knesset members months ago.

The occupation government has decided to adopt Trump’s plan, with Netanyahu expressing his support for it. However, so far, no country has agreed to take in the displaced Palestinians. Meanwhile, Israel’s security minister has ordered investments in preparing a comprehensive plan. The Israeli government is trying to frame the displacement as “voluntary migration” rather than forced expulsion to avoid accusations of committing war crimes.