Israel and Hamas
have reached an agreement on the first phase of a ceasefire and
hostage–prisoner exchange deal in Gaza, following a 20-point plan
proposed by US President Donald Trump.
Under the arrangement, Israel will release 250
Palestinian prisoners and approximately 1,700 Gazans detained since the
war began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. In
exchange, Hamas will release 47 hostages still held in Gaza from the 251
people abducted during the attack. The remains of one more hostage, believed to
have been held since 2014, are also expected to be returned.
However, the list of prisoners to be released
does not include several senior Palestinian militant leaders, many of
whom Hamas has long demanded be freed. Among those excluded are Marwan
Barghouti, Ahmad Saadat, Hassan Salameh, and Abbas
al-Sayyed — all serving life sentences in Israeli prisons.
Barghouti, who was convicted on murder charges in
2004, remains one of the most prominent figures in Palestinian politics and is
often referred to by supporters as the “Palestinian Mandela.”
Meanwhile, scenes from Khan Yunis in southern
Gaza on October 10, 2025, showed displaced residents returning to what
remains of their homes following the recent Israeli troop withdrawal. A
boy carrying synthetic flowers and men hauling belongings along a destroyed
road captured the enduring human toll of the conflict.
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