10,000 Years of Detention: Resistance Secures Freedom for 1,777 Palestinians

Occupied Palestine (Quds News Network)- The first phase of a prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel has ended, resulting in the release of 1,777 Palestinian detainees, who spent a total time amounting to approximately 10,000 years in Israeli detention centres.

The seventh and final batch of this phase was completed on Thursday. Israel freed 642 detainees, including 151 serving life sentences and 445 detainees from Gaza kidnapped after October 7, 2023. It also included 46 women and children from Gaza.

The releases took place in seven batches. Along with the Palestinian detainees, one Jordanian detainee was also freed. Among those released, 285 were serving life sentences, 1,046 were from Gaza and kidnapped after October 7, 2023, 69 were children, 71 were women, and 41 were elderly.

The freed detainees included members from various factions. Three hundred were from Hamas, 266 were from Fatah, 62 belonged to Islamic Jihad, 18 were from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and 1,147 were unaffiliated with any group.

The 1,777 prisoners spent a combined total of 10,000 years in Israeli detention centres. Their original sentences amounted to 35,000 years, with 25,000 years still remaining.

On February 15, 369 detainees were released, including 333 from Gaza and 36 with life sentences. On February 8, 183 detainees were freed, including 42 from the West Bank, 3 from Jerusalem, and 138 from Gaza. In early February, 183 were released, including 18 with life sentences and 111 from Gaza. On January 30, 110 were freed, including 32 with life sentences and 30 women and children. On January 25, 200 detainees were freed, including one Jordanian and 121 serving life sentences. On January 19, 90 women and children were released from the West Bank and Jerusalem.

In return, Palestinian factions in Gaza released 33 Israeli prisoners. Among them, 25 were alive, while 8 were killed in Israeli strikes and returned as dead bodies.

The ceasefire agreement, which began on January 19, 2025, includes three phases. Each phase lasts 42 days. The first phase allows negotiations for the second and third stages, with mediation by Egypt and Qatar, supported by the United States.

Between October 7, 2023, and January 19, 2025, Israeli attacks caused massive destruction in Gaza. More than 160,000 people were killed or injured, most of them women and children. Over 14,000 people remain missing.