Palestinian prisoners freed in Gaza ceasefire allege abuse in jail – and fear re-arrest by Israel
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Bel Trew in Jerusalem speaks to some of those released in exchange for hostages – including a 17-year-old – who decribe being deprived of food and being beaten. Allegations that Israel has repeatedly denied. Palestinian prisoners released during Gaza’s ceasefire deal have alleged abuse inside Israel’s prisons – saying they feel “mixed” emotions about being freed as they fear the fragile truce will not hold, and they may be re-arrested.
![[A freed Palestinian prisoner is greeted]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/20/08/2025-01-20T013033Z_2019680506_RC2CDCAKFPT7_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-GAZA-CEASEFIRE.jpg)
Ecstatic crowds waving flags greeted the buses that left the sprawling Ofer prison complex in the occupied West Bank early on Monday. Inside were 90 Palestinian prisoners, all women, teenagers, and children, many of whom say they were abused and tortured inside Israel’s detention system—allegations that Israel has repeatedly denied.
![[Khalida Jarrar, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council was one of the most prominent releases]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/20/08/2194249691.jpg)
They were freed as part of a long-fought-for ceasefire brokered by the US, Qatar, and Egypt. Split into three phases, the initial six-week period will see Hamas release 33 hostages it seized during its bloody attacks on 7 October. In exchange, almost 2,000 Palestinians in Israeli detention would also be freed.
![[Freed Palestinian prisoners are carried aloft after being released from an Israeli jail as part of a hostages-prisoners swap and a ceasefire deal in Gaza between Hamas and Israel]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/20/04/2025-01-20T011733Z_302217254_RC2BDCAUVYBI_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-GAZA-CEASEFIRE.jpg)
After 15 months inside Gaza, the first three hostages, including British-Israeli citizen Emily Damari, 27, were reunited with their families in emotional scenes at Tel Aviv central hospital on Sunday. It took until Monday early morning before the prisoners were released, after scuffles with Israeli security forces outside Ofer.
Among the released was 17-year-old secondary school student Thaer Abu Sara, who was arrested from the occupied West Bank in October 2023—the second day of the war—on charges of participating in violent protests and allegedly having ties to a Hamas. He says he was tortured in detention, including the use of electric shocks.
