Families await chance of greeting detained women and children as Israel reportedly releases 39 from list of 300 in ceasefire deal
As the sun began to set on Friday, thousands of Palestinians began to gather at an Israeli checkpoint north of Jerusalem, next to the notorious Ofer military prison, in the hopes that imprisoned loved ones would be returned as part of a ceasefire deal in the seven-week-old war between Israel and Hamas.
Qatari officials said 39 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails were released on Friday night, in exchange for the safe return of 13 Israelis held in the Gaza Strip as hostages since Hamas attacked communities around the south of the country last month, sparking the deadliest round of fighting in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict to date.
