More Palestinian teens freed amid hopes hostage deal can be extended

BBC News:

A further 39 Palestinians have been freed from Israeli prisons in the third exchange for hostages being held in Gaza.

They were released as part of an agreement which has seen 40 Israeli hostages taken on 7 October returned.

It brings the total number of Palestinians released since the first swap on Friday to 117.

A last exchange is expected on Monday under the current deal agreed by Israel and Hamas, but it could be extended.

Among the latest Palestinian prisoners to be freed was teenager Mohammed Al-Awar, who spent 16 months in jail. His mother said she had mixed feelings about his release.

“Our joy is incomplete because of the huge number of people killed in Gaza,” she said in a video showing their reunion.

Another teenager, Abdurahman Al-Zaghal, was also freed but was not with the others as he is in an Israeli hospital receiving medical treatment.

He was shot in the head and hit by shrapnel in the lower part of his body in August as he went out to buy bread, according to his uncle. Israeli authorities said he was trying to throw a petrol bomb on a settlement post in the area.

Al-Zaghal’s trial was held in absentia as he was still in intensive care.

He was seen on Sunday removing an electronic bracelet from his leg.

As in the earlier nights of prisoner swaps, large crowds took to the streets in the West Bank – where detainees are being returned to initially – to greet the coaches carrying the released prisoners.

Footage shows some of those released being paraded around on people’s shoulders, while other members of the crowd wave Palestinian flags.

Israel has compiled a list of 300 Palestinian prisoners, mainly teenage boys, who are eligible for release under the deal struck with Hamas.