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SvennoJ on 04 July 2024
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How many captives and prisoners are held by Israel and Hamas?

A potential deal between Israel and Hamas could see the release of captives held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

In November last year, Palestinian prisoners were released at a ratio of 33 Palestinian prisoners to one Israeli captive. A proposal put forward by Hamas in May put the ratio at 50 Palestinian prisoners to one Israeli captive.

By contrast, a UN Security Council resolution adopted in June only mentions Palestinian prisoners once and does not specify how many could potentially be released. The UN resolution does specify that all Israeli captives held by Hamas would be released.

According to the Israeli army, there are 116 Israeli captives still in Gaza, including 42 the army says are dead.

The number of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and detention centres has increased significantly since October.

Israel currently detains at least 9,300 Palestinians, including 3,450 held without charges. However, the number of Palestinians from Gaza detained by the Israeli military since the start of the war remains unknown, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said last week.


Prisoner released after 21 years, describes inhumane conditions in Israeli prisons

One of the 50 Palestinian men released this week from Israeli jails has spoken to Al Jazeera about his horrific experience being detained for more than 20 years.

Yousef Miqdad, now 63 years old, was imprisoned in 2002 for being a member of the armed wing of the Palestinian group Fatah. On Monday, he was released back into the war-torn Gaza Strip, where he met his grandson for the first time.



Israeli gov’t adviser demands closure of Sde Teiman detention centre

The Israeli government’s judicial adviser has requested Netanyahu to close the Sde Teiman detention centre in Negev, where Gaza prisoners are being held, Israeli daily Maariv reported.

Israeli human rights organisations had submitted a petition to the Supreme Court, demanding an end to the torture of Palestinians held in the infamous detention centre and urging its “immediate” closure.