642 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails

Israel has released 642 Palestinian prisoners under a cease-fire and prisoner swap agreement with Hamas.

500 of the released prisoners were shifted to Gaza, dozens to the West Bank and 97 to Egypt.

The freed Palestinian prisoners were taken to the European Hospital Gaza for medical examination. The prisoners in the West Bank were given a warm welcome. Many prisoners met their families after serving life sentences.

Yahya Shreda, a Palestinian prisoner released in Ramallah, described Israeli prisons as “living graves” and said: “We have been brought out of such agony as if we were taken out of our own grave.”

The release is part of the first phase of a ceasefire agreement under which Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages killed in the war.

The first phase of the ceasefire ends on March 1, and mediators are trying hard to keep hopes of a second round of talks, but calls within the Israeli government to resume the war could threaten the effort.