KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip – Thousands of Palestinians poured into the streets of Khan Younis on Monday, erupting in cheers and tears as Red Cross buses rolled in carrying nearly 1,700 former prisoners freed under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal aimed at ending the 2-year war in Gaza.
Crowds swarmed Nasser Hospital, where families scaled the sides of the slow-moving vehicles to embrace loved ones they hadn’t seen in months or years. Patriotic songs blasted from speakers, Palestinian flags fluttered alongside those of Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and men in military fatigues and black balaclavas worked to maintain order amid the chaos.
“The greatest joy is seeing my whole family gathered to welcome me,” said Yusef Afana, a 25-year-old from northern Gaza who spent 10 months behind bars. “The pain in prison isn’t only physical; it’s pain in the soul.” Like many of the released detainees, Afana called for the swift liberation of others still held in Israeli jails.
The prisoners, clad in the gray jumpsuits of Israel’s Prison Service, stepped off the buses into waiting arms. Shadi Abu Sidu, 32, from Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood, described enduring mistreatment right up to his release. “Even right before we left, they continued to mistreat and humiliate us,” he said. “But now, we hope to erase those painful memories and begin life anew.”
The releases mark the first phase of a plan pushed by President Donald Trump to halt the conflict ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and led to the seizure of 250 hostages. In exchange for the freed Palestinians — about 1,700 of whom were detained by the Israeli military inside Gaza during the war, and 250 labeled as security prisoners, many convicted in attacks on Israelis — Hamas is to return dozens of hostages.
Hundreds of miles north, in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, another crowd of several hundred gathered to welcome roughly 100 released detainees. Some flashed victory signs as they disembarked, while others hobbled forward on unsteady legs, supported by relatives. Hugs turned to sobs, foreheads pressed in relief, and a few family members collapsed from the overwhelming emotion of reunions delayed by years, even decades, in captivity.
“It’s an indescribable feeling, a new birth,” said Mahdi Ramadan, surrounded by his parents with whom he planned to spend his first free evening. “I can’t put it into words.”
The scenes of jubilation defied a quiet plea from Israeli authorities, who on Sunday contacted families of detainees urging them to forgo large gatherings, according to Palestinian media reports. “No reception is allowed, no celebration is allowed, no gatherings,” said Alaa Bani Odeh, who traveled from the northern West Bank town of Tammun to retrieve his 20-year-old son, jailed for four years.
Past prisoner swaps have drawn massive street parties in Ramallah, with throngs waving factional banners and choking traffic in waves of national pride. Monday’s events, though tempered by the fragile truce, echoed that fervor — a brief burst of humanity amid a war that has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and displaced nearly the entire 2.3 million population of the strip.
As the buses emptied and families scattered into the evening, the released men carried not just stories of hardship, but glimmers of hope for a broader peace. For Afana and others, the real victory lay ahead: “I hope all the prisoners will be released soon,” he said, “so no one else has to feel this pain.” (source: sgencies)
