14-year-old boy among 300 prisoners to be released by Israel under hostage deal with Hamas: Report

Israel will release around 300 Palestinian prisoners in two phases under an Israel-Hamas hostage deal to secure the release of hostages in Gaza. Among those to be released by Israel is a 14-year-old boy from east Jerusalem.

The boy, identified as Adam Abuda Hassan Gheit, was arrested and detained in May for attacking a police officer and throwing stones. He is also the youngest Palestinian prisoner to be released by Israel. 

The oldest among those to be released is a 59-year-old woman identified as Hanan Salah Abdallah Barghuti. She was arrested in September for "Hamas activity including money," news agency AFP reported citing an official list from the Israeli government.

Among the most prominent individuals on the list is 38-year-old Israa Jaabis. Jaabis was convicted in 2015 for detonating a gas cylinder at a checkpoint. She was imprisoned for 11 years for this offence. 

Israel-Hamas hostage deal

Under the terms of the truce deal, 50 Israeli hostages will be released over the course of four days in exchange of 150 security detainees being freed. More detainees could be released later at the same 3:1 ratio. 

The list of prisoners includes 33 women and 123 boys aged under 18 and 144 men aged 18. The list of Palestinian prisoners includes 49 Hamas members, 60 related to Fatah and 17 linked with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Remaining prisoners did not have any declared affiliations.  Most of the prisoners on the list are from West Bank and Jerusalem. They were held for crimes like making explosives, damaging property, attempted stabbings, hurling stones at Israeli soldiers and having contacts with hostile organisations.

Israel is holding around 7,200 prisoners as of Wednesday, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society. Of these, 88 are women and 250 are children aged 17 years and under.

Hamas, on the other hand, claims that it holds 210 out of 240 hostages abducted from Israel, which include 40 children. Another Palestinian terror group Islamic Jihad is believed to be holding the remaining 30 hostages. 

Also Read: Israel, Hamas agree on deal for release of hostages and facilitate aid in Gaza; see details