It was reported that US President Donald Trump played a key role in the release of four Israeli soldier prisoners held by Hamas.
“Today, the world celebrates President Trump’s securing the release of four more Israeli prisoners who have been held against their will by Hamas for far too long,” the White House said in a written statement. The statement noted that the US reaffirmed its commitment to cooperate with Israel “to secure the release of all remaining captives and to promote peace in the region.” Days before he officially took office, Trump had threatened to turn the region into “hell” if a prisoner agreement was not reached. The Israel Prison Authority announced that 200 Palestinian prisoners, 120 of whom were sentenced to life imprisonment by Israel, were released in exchange for the release of four female Israeli soldiers from the Gaza Strip today. The Qatari Foreign Ministry, one of the guarantor countries of the ceasefire and mutual prisoner swap agreement between Hamas and Israel, announced that the second round of the prisoner swap had been completed. 90 PALESTINIAN AND 3 ISAIRELI PRISONERS WERE RELEASED IN THE FIRST ROUND The ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement reached between Hamas and Israel in Gaza entered into force on Sunday, January 19 at 12:15 Turkish time. In the first round of the prisoner swap, Hamas’ military wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, handed over three female Israeli prisoners to a Red Cross team on January 19 as part of the first phase of the agreement. In this context, 90 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons were released hours later from Ofer Military Prison in the occupied West Bank.
