Israel released 183 Palestinians from Ofer Prison in the West Bank yesterday as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, 138 of whom were brought to Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, where they were greeted with slogans.

“The situation of the prisoners is very, very bad. We were subjected to insults, torture and beatings every day, and the Israeli soldiers were cursing our families while they were torturing us. We were always hungry because the food was very little. It was not even enough for a small child. They were beating us very brutally. You can see the marks of the handcuffs on my hands. These handcuffs were on me from 12 midnight yesterday until I was handed over to the Red Cross today. The insults and beatings continued until the very end. As I was getting off the bus to be greeted by the Red Cross, an Israeli soldier hit me on the head and threw me to the ground,” said Ahmed Al-Hisi.

“The conditions are terrible and very difficult, indescribable. We have been handcuffed and beaten every day for 160 days. The amount of food is also very little. I lost 22 kilos. There were beatings, attacks and insults every day, but as soon as we arrived in Gaza and saw the Palestinian people welcoming us, all these difficulties ended,” said Mahdi Al-Bardini.

Palestinian Arafat Mushtaha emphasized that the treatment of Israeli soldiers was very bad and the conditions of the prisoners were extremely difficult and called on Palestinian groups to complete the agreement for the immediate release of all prisoners.

“My brother has been detained for 1 year and 3 months. During the war, the Israeli army killed two of his sons, and my other brother is still in Israeli prisons. We hope that all Palestinian prisoners will be released. We resolutely support the resistance and ask them to continue their work for the release of all prisoners,” said the sister of a detainee named Alaa Al-Athamneh.