Fewer than 20% of Palestinians held in Israel released under peace plan

The first phase of the Israel-Gaza peace plan, centred on a hostage-prisoner exchange and ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, sparked highly anticipated jubilation across many Israeli and Palestinian households. Yet the numbers behind the exchange also expose a stark imbalance in who moves freely and who remains behind bars.

As Israel announced the release of its last living hostages this week, closing the chapter on nearly two years of captivity, fewer than one in five Palestinian political prisoners named for release under the same agreement have been freed. The disparity lays bare the discordance at the heart of the conflict.

Under the terms of the deal, Israel freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees, including 250 convicted prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 held without charge since October 2023. Of all Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli custody, just 17.7 per cent were released under the agreement.

Meanwhile, Israel secured the release of all 20 remaining living Israeli hostages held in Gaza after more than 700 days in captivity. Some have hailed their return as a national triumph and a moment of closure in the war.

In Gaza, the occupied West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem, families awaited the arrival of newly freed Palestinian detainees, some riding in convoys of buses to towns such as Ramallah, Nablus and Jenin. But in Ramallah especially, many families tempered public displays of emotion out of fear of reprisals from Israeli forces. “They told us we cannot celebrate, that there’s no need to do anything,” said Riad Emran, whose brother was removed from the release roster at the last minute. “That’s OK. I’m still hopeful.”

By October 5, 2025, human rights group Addameer reported that Israel was holding 11,100 Palestinians on political grounds. Among them were 3,544 administrative detainees held without formal charges or trial, 400 minors and 53 women. Under the new arrangement, about one third of detainees are held in administrative detention, the highest proportion in more than a decade.

However, Monday’s release still leaves about 1,300 Palestinians from Gaza in Israeli custody, according to a count of detainees last month by Israeli human rights group HaMoked.

But as Palestinians welcome their prisoners home – with some viewed as freedom fighters – many Israelis still consider them terrorists. Reports from the UN, rights groups and detainees detailing conditions while held – of isolation, beatings, insufficient food and untreated illness – have made prisoners prominent symbols of their people’s political struggle.