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Turkey to host 15 Palestinians freed in hostage deal: report

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Turkey has agreed to take in around 15 of 70 Palestinians who were recently released and subsequently deported to Egypt as part of a hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, two officials told The Times of Israel.

The truce, announced by mediators Qatar and the United States, took effect on January 19 and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war are expected to be finalized.

Israel demanded that the Palestinians convicted by Israel of crimes such as murder not be released into Gaza or the West Bank. Egypt agreed to serve as a temporary landing spot for them, 70 of whom were released last week and are now in Cairo.

Qatar is expected to take in the remaining 55, though talks are ongoing and an additional country may be asked to host some of the prisoners deported later on in the deal, according to a regional official and an Arab diplomat familiar with the matter.

The decision on where to send the various Palestinian convicts was made in coordination with Israel, the two officials said.

A number of senior Hamas members already live in Qatar, where Israeli officials frequently travel for hostage negotiations, and Turkey has previously hosted top members of Hamas.

Israel has committed to releasing 1,904 prisoners, including 737 serving life sentences, in return for 33 women, children, men over 50 and those considered especially ill, during the ceasefire deal’s 42-day first phase. Seven Israeli hostages have already been released, in return for 290 Palestinian prisoners, including 121 serving life sentences.

The war in Gaza was triggered by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in the death of around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

During the attack, the deadliest in Israeli history, Palestinian militants also took 251 people hostage.

Israel’s ensuing campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing more than 46,000 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry.

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