Families rejoiced as buses carrying freed Palestinian prisoners arrived in Ramallah and Gaza — marking a major step in the newly brokered ceasefire agreement.
Israel began releasing more than 1,900 prisoners and detainees, with emotional reunions unfolding across the West Bank. Cheering crowds gathered as buses arrived from Ofer Prison in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, while at least one bus crossed into the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-run Prisoners Office.
FRANCE 24’s Claire Paccalin reports from Ramallah, bringing firsthand coverage of the reunions, relief, and cautious optimism following the deal.
📺 Watch the full report for emotional scenes and insights into what this ceasefire means for both sides.
00:00All right, well, we will be seeing how that meeting goes later on in the day.
00:04Thank you for that, Shirley.
00:05We can, though, cross live to our reporter, Claire Bacallan, who's in Ramallah in the West Bank.
00:11That's where there are Palestinian families.
00:14They're waiting to be reunited with some of those being released by Israel this Monday.
00:20Claire, tell us about the atmosphere, where you are.
00:25Well, I'm just outside the Ramallah Cultural Palace.
00:29This is the municipality building.
00:31Crowds are being gathering now.
00:33Family members of the Palestinian prisoners that we expect to arrive here very soon on buses.
00:39These prisoners are being released under this deal.
00:43Family members as well as members of the Palestinian Authority Security Forces and members of the Red President as well.
00:49Of course, lots of press, too.
00:51We are expecting, once these buses arrive and the soon-to-be former prisoners, they will go in to this municipality building and they will meet with their families there.
01:01We had just been speaking to a lady who told us that she was here to meet with her brother.
01:07He was put behind bars 17 years ago.
01:11She said she didn't expect to ever see him again, which suggests that he was given a life sentence.
01:16She said, of course, she was over the moon to be seeing him again shortly.
01:20She said it felt like having a fire inside.
01:23Now, to give you a recap, of the 250 or so Palestinian prisoners,
01:27who were regrouped off-air prison near Ramallah, many of them will be deported.
01:33We do not know exactly how many and where, to which countries they will be deported to,
01:38but others will be released here today in Ramallah and others in East Jerusalem as well.
01:43And the Israeli Security Services have contacted the families of those prisoners,
01:48telling them, warning them not to hold celebrations.
01:51They are not to hold celebrations that will be seen as disrespectful.
01:55They will not to hold celebrations or do anything which could be honouring Hamas.
02:01Meanwhile, Claire, some are also returning to Gaza.
02:05Those were people detained in Gaza since October 7.
02:09Obviously, they're returning to a very different Gaza, perhaps,
02:13than the one that they knew before they were detained.
02:16Certainly, we're looking at around 1,700 people who were detained in Gaza
02:22after the October 7th attacks.
02:24Now, they were regrouped at a prison in the Negev Desert.
02:27And we understand preparations have been happening all day at the Nasser Hospital to receive them.
02:33And some of their family members, of course, would be there to receive them.
02:37But there are families in Gaza who have found out, or have only just recently found out,
02:42that members of their family, their relatives, are on the list of prisoners to be released.
02:46And until then, they thought that they were missing.
02:51They did not know where they were.
02:53They had no news.
02:54They thought they may be dead.
02:56There's two years of war in Gaza now.
02:58But many of those families will be seeing their family members today,
03:03having thought that they may not ever see them again.
03:06And in Ramallah, where you are, I'm not sure how much you've spoken to people there,
03:12but is there a sense there that this ceasefire deal, this first phase,
03:17has given people there much hope?
03:20I mean, the deal, of course, is centred around the fighting in Gaza and a ceasefire there.
03:25But how are people in the West Bank viewing this?
03:29Well, certainly, people in the West Bank are very pleased that the bombardments have ceased,
03:36have stalled in Gaza for the moment.
03:39But it's important to remember that they have problems of their own.
03:42There is extremist violence coming from settler communities,
03:47which is making life difficult for many Palestinians.
03:50In the occupied West Bank.
03:52And they are, they'll be keeping an eye on the meeting that we'll be seeing,
03:57Shammar Sheikh, Egypt with the world leaders.
04:00The next steps, what happened next?
04:02Thank goodness that the bombing has ended for now in Gaza.
04:05But what's next?
04:06What's next for a Palestinian state, a future Palestinian state?
04:10And Claire, just if we can, going back to those 250 Palestinian prisoners being released,
04:16you mentioned a lot of them will be, you know, sent to other countries.
04:21But what has been the reaction among Israelis?
04:25I mean, you know, there's been a bit of outcry, hasn't there?
04:28There is certainly anxiety in some parts of the Israeli society.
04:36And with good reason, when you look at the crimes that these men were convicted of,
04:44some were awaiting trial and not yet been convicted,
04:46but most were convicted of often either organizing or even carrying out deadly attacks
04:52in which Israelis were killed.
04:54And you have to just look at the case of Lea Sinwar,
04:57who was seen as an organizer behind the preparation of the October 7th attack in Israel.
05:05And he was released in a prisoner exchange several years ago, 2011.
05:11He went back to Gaza after having spent quite some time in an Israeli prison.
05:16And he was able to organize and launch the October 7th attack.
05:20So certainly there is anxiety in Israeli society about that.
05:25But at the same time, the goal of having all of the remaining hostages home is a big win as well.
05:32And of course, you can see those images in Tel Aviv,
05:34where our correspondent is showing the joy on the streets of Tel Aviv
05:39as the hostages are finally on their way home.
05:43All right, Claire Bacallant, a day of mixed emotions then, it seems.
05:46Thank you very much for your reporting.
05:47That's France 24's reporter Claire Bacallant in Ramallah.
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