Ramallah:

A bus carrying a group of Palestinian prisoners released Saturday by Israel under the Gaza ceasefire deal arrived to a cheering crowd in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, according to an AFP journalist.

Wearing traditional keffiyeh scarves, the freed prisoners were hoisted on the crowd’s shoulders and hugged relatives before heading to a quick health checkup, the journalist reported.

Many in the crowd waved the yellow flags of the Palestinian Authority’s Fatah party, while one prisoner kissed a baby as soon as he stepped off the bus.

Unlike previous releases, the prisoners wore jackets rather than openly displaying their prison garb.

Earlier Saturday, images broadcast on Israeli public television showed images of Palestinian prisoners ahead of their release wearing sweatshirts featuring the prison service logo, a Star of David, and the slogan: “We will not forget and we will not forgive.”

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group had said Israel was to release 369 inmates in the latest exchange.

The inmates were freed Saturday in exchange for three Israelis held hostage in Gaza since Hamas’ unprecedented attack on October 7, 2023 that triggered the war.

Israel had warned Hamas that it must free three living hostages this weekend or face a resumption of the war, after the group said it would pause releases over what it described as Israeli violations of the Gaza truce.

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