“After the completion of the necessary measures in the prisons and the approval of the political authorities, all the terrorists were released from Ofer and Kziot prisons,” the Israel Prison Service said in a statement.
Some of the freed prisoners were picked up by the crowd after they got off the buses with loud cheers and fireworks.
A scuffle then ensued as they tried to find their loved ones and family members before being herded into the sports complex where the celebrations continued.
“Thank God! It’s a great feeling, I can’t describe the feeling! I was in prison for six years and two months,” said released inmate Bakker Kvaavish after getting off one of the buses wearing a gray prison uniform.
The youngest Palestinian prisoner released on Saturday was 16 years old. The oldest, Mohammed al-Tus, was 69 years old. He spent 39 years in prison, having been arrested for the first time in 1985 while fighting Israeli forces.
Another inmate, Mohammad al-Ardah, was involved in a high-profile prison break in 2021.
A total of 121 of those released were serving life sentences.
Some prisoners were held in custody for a short time, while others were not charged, but were held under so-called administrative arrest.
Saturday’s exchange was the second since the cease-fire that took effect on January 19. During the first exchange, three hostages and 90 Palestinian prisoners were released.
There was a visible show of support for Hamas during last week’s prisoner release, but on Saturday Fatah, the ruling West Bank party that dominates the Palestinian Authority (PA), turned out in force to show its support for the prisoners.
