Israel has agreed to release up to 150 prisoners in its custody from Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages taken by Hamas from Israel when the militants attacked the Jewish state on October 7.
Citing information from the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the Israeli Embassy in Manila said Tel Aviv on Wednesday night, Nov. 22, "approved an outline for the release of abductees."
"According to which, at least 50 abducted women and children will be released from Hamas captivity as part of a four-day respite in the fighting. For each additional day of respite, ten additional hostages will be released," the embassy said.
"At the same time, Israel will release up to 150 security prisoners (from a closed, defined list), in pulses parallel to the release of the abductees," it added.
This came after Israel and Hamas agreed to conduct a humanitarian truce, which was expected to start on Thursday. The Israeli government did not confirm if it was pushing through on the said day.
According to Israel, a total of 237 people were abducted to the Gaza Strip, on top of the four people already taken by Hamas before October 7.
Of the abductees, 43 are minors, including those who are less than 5 years old. Meanwhile, 18 are over the age of 75 and 26 hold foreign citizenship (including dual).