
In accordance with the hostage release deal, Israel freed 90 terrorists early Monday morning in exchange for the three hostages who were freed from Hamas captivity on Sunday.
78 of the terrorists will be released to the areas of Judea and Samaria, and 12 to eastern Jerusalem.
The Israel Prison Service said, “During the evening, 90 terrorists were transferred from various detention facilities across the country to the 'Ofer' prison, accompanied by personnel from the Nachshon unit of the Prison Service and with the assistance of the Israel Police. Upon completion of the reception procedures and receiving approval from the political authorities, all the terrorists were released from 'Ofer' prison and Jerusalem Detention Center."
The release of the terrorists was delayed and only implemented after 1:00 a.m., after officials involved in the release process claimed that representatives of the Red Cross were intentionally delaying the release of the terrorist prisoners.
"The Red Cross personnel, for reasons unclear, are dragging their feet and delaying the process of transferring the Palestinian prisoners. They claim there isn't a match between the lists and it seems they want to portray Israel as not adhering to the schedules," security sources told Channel 12 News.
Earlier, the IDF clarified that, as part of the agreement and preparations for the release of the terrorists and following the decisions of the political echelon in the Judea and Samaria area, the Central Command was reinforced with additional combat forces for defense and offense throughout Judea and Samaria.