Ofer Prison near Jerusalem. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

i24 News – The Justice Ministry confirmed on Sunday that 90 Palestinian prisoners will be released in exchange for three Israeli hostages: Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher.

Of this total, 78 prisoners will be transferred to the West Bank and 12 to east Jerusalem. This is in line with the ratio of 30 prisoners released for each hostage. The Israeli prison administration has already received the list of detainees to be released from various prisons as part of the operation, named “Wings of Freedom.” The release process will follow a strict protocol – once the prison procedures are completed, members of the special Nachshon unit, the prison services response team, will escort the prisoners to the central gathering point at Ofer Prison.

Upon their arrival at Ofer, the detainees will be formally identified by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross. They will then have to wait for the confirmation of the arrival of the Israeli hostages on Israeli territory before their release is authorized by the political authorities.

The final stage of the process will involve their transport from Ofer Prison to their respective release locations, which will be handled by the Red Cross. This release is part of the broader exchange agreement negotiated between Israel and Hamas, with the mediation of Qatar and Egypt.

The agreement provides for the gradual release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners at a predefined ratio, accompanied by a temporary ceasefire in the fighting in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli authorities have emphasized that each phase of release is conditional on the success of the previous phase.