The Al-Qassam Brigades and the Palestinian Resistance factions in Gaza have freed 39 female and underage male prisoners from Israeli occupation prisons, as part of the first batch of the truce agreement and the prisoner exchange deal, which began today and will continue for four days.
A four-day humanitarian truce went into effect in Gaza at 7 am Friday after a deal was reached between the Israeli occupation and Hamas on the matter following an Israeli aggression that has persisted for 47 days, leaving tens of thousands injured, killed, and displaced.
The freed Palestinian female prisoners and child prisoners from the “Ofer” Prison arrived in the town of Beitunia, west of Ramallah in the West Bank, amidst a massive popular reception for them. The freed prisoners chanted slogans in support of the Palestinian Resistance and Gaza and raised victory signs.
In the same context, the Gaza Strip witnessed enthusiastic celebrations after the release of the first batch of prisoners of the prisoner exchange deal. In Jenin and its camp, mosques echoed Takbir (glorification of God) in celebration of the prisoners’ release.
In her first statement after being freed, liberated prisoner Marah Bakir, from occupied al-Quds, said, “The feeling of freedom, in exchange for the blood of martyrs in the Gaza Strip and in the face of the great sacrifices of my people there, is very difficult.”
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been returning to the northern Gaza Strip from the south.
The occupation media added that the Israeli occupation forces will take strict measures to prevent the Palestinians from moving between the south and north of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Security Minister Yoav Galant reiterated that “the ceasefire is a short truce, and the Israeli army will return with full force at its end.”
Despite the threats from the Israeli occupation forces, which deployed tanks and military vehicles in the north and had targeted the displaced who left the northern Gaza Strip for the south, those same displaced people, upon the implementation of the ceasefire in the early hours of Friday, began to return to the North of Gaza. They flocked to their homes, hospitals, and cemeteries in a blatant challenge to the Israeli occupation.
The Israeli occupation is “threatening to open fire on anyone that approaches its forces stationed in the city of Beit Hanoun,” Al Mayadeen reported.
Political Statements by the Resistance
In regards to the truce head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh stated, “Our great people have written an epic of steadfastness, and our fighters have inflicted deep wounds on the enemy. We proudly and honorably faced the occupation, breaking its will and foiling its plans. The enemy bet on recovering detainees and prisoners held by Qassam and the resistance in Gaza through the barrel of guns, killing, and genocide, but ultimately conceded to the resistance’s terms and the will of our proud people.” He also thanked fighters in Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq.
Saraya Al-Quds military spokesperson, Abu Hamza had a similar sentiment. He said, “Over 48 days, Saraya Al-Quds and the Palestinian resistance bombarded the occupied cities and towns with hundreds of rockets and mortar shells, sending the occupation’s soldiers and officers back to hospitals, graves, and rehabilitation centers.”
“The truce is a clear admission of the enemy’s setback, forced due to its losses in the [battle] field and the stalling of its ground forces despite ground troops and aerial raids.
With the resilience of our fighters in the field, we will later force the enemy into a major exchange operation that ensures the liberation of all our prisoners under the principle of ‘everyone for everyone.’ This agreement —previously rejected by the enemy under the pretext of forcing the resistance to release their prisoners without conditions— was achieved.”
While Deputy Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Jamil Mezher, established the communist position on the current political situation. He stated that, “We are at a pivotal moment in the course of this battle, and the history of Palestine, the region, and the Arab nation, where we restore the value and dignity of the Arab human, and topple the plans for the liquidation of the Palestinian cause and the genocide and displacement of the Palestinian people.”
From this the party affirmed the following: “Thus, we are called upon to adopt a united Palestinian national stance that adheres to the rights of our people and reflects their unity. From a position of national and historical responsibility, we call everyone to immediately begin forming a united national emergency leadership to confront this aggression and to manage the political and field battle, resisting the liquidation and displacement plans.”
They placed the blame for the conflict on the United States door, arguing that “The United States, along with all colonial governments, is primarily responsible for the continuation of this aggression and has supplied it with all means of bombing and destruction, making their forces and fleets a legitimate target for all honorable fighters, to force them to stop the aggression.”
Lastly they “salute[d] the Axis of Resistance in Lebanon, particularly our brothers in Hezbollah, and in Yemen, Iraq, and Syria, who have taken the initiative since the onset of Al-Aqsa Flood to engage in a real war of attrition against the zionist enemy.”
Informants Executed
The Palestinian resistance in Tulkarem executed two traitors today who were confirmed to be spies collaborating with the IOF. These spies delivered critical information to the Shin Bet in exchange for money and other favors.These collaborators put tracking devices on the cars of resistance leaders, leading to their assassinations.
Residents of Kfar Ra’i, Tulkarem, released a collective statement disowning one of the informants and supporting the decision of the resistance to execute him.
International Demonstrations
Jordanians took part in massive pro-Palestine marches in Amman and various parts of the country on Friday. Thousands participated in a central march in the capital, Amman, carrying banners that read “Resistance is our choice.”
Several Jordanian forces called for the march, which began after Friday prayers outside the al-Husseini Mosque downtown, following a funeral prayer for the victims of the Israeli aggression on Gaza.
Participants in the march chanted in support of Yemen and hailed the launch of Yemeni missiles launched toward Israeli targets, expressing solidarity with the Palestinian Resistance and Gaza.
The participants also shouted slogans urging the Jordanian government to “escalate against Israel,” such as canceling the “Wadi Araba Peace Agreement” and forming a Jordanian front to resist the Israeli occupation in occupied Palestine.
They also echoed chants in support of the spokesperson for Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida.
Participants raised pictures of Gaza’s children and other images of US President Joe Biden and Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the words “War Criminals” written on them.
The Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and the provinces of al-Hudaydah, Ibb, Dhamar, Amran, Saada, Raymah, Al-Bayda, Hajjah, al-Jawf, and al-Mahwit witnessed large popular demonstrations after the Friday prayers in support of the Palestinian Resistance movements and the steadfastness of the Palestinian people.
The masses in the capital, Sanaa, and the remainder of the governorates raised Palestinian flags and banners and chanted slogans reaffirming Yemen’s steadfast stance, both in terms of its leadership and people, in support of the Palestinian people and the resistance movements against the Israeli occupation.
The large crowds chanted in support of Operation al-Aqsa Flood and the great and historic victories realized by the Palestinian and Lebanese Resistance against the Israeli occupation, congratulating the resistance for its conquests.
The Yemen people stressed that freedom fighting and Resistance were the optimal means of “deterring the Zionist-American aggression and defending the Islamic sanctities.”