First hostages freed since Israel-Hamas ceasefire begins: Live updates

Hamas released their names Palestinian prisoners They are expected to be among the first batch to be released from Israeli prisons on Friday.

The list contains 39 names – 24 women and 15 minors. The majority of those on the list are from the occupied West Bank.

CNN previously reported the numbers on the list.

Prisoners are being transferred from two prisons, Daman and Megiddo, southeast of Haifa, to Ofer prison, south of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, for final checks by the Red Cross, an Israeli official told CNN on Thursday.

Some background: Around 8,300 Palestinian prisoners They are currently being held in Israeli prisons, said Katura Fares, head of the Palestinian Authority for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs.

More than 3,000 of them are being held in what Israel calls “administrative detention,” Fares told CNN, meaning they are being held without knowing the charges against them and without ongoing legal action.

Israel has stepped up its arrests since the October 7 attacks by Hamas. In that month alone, 2,070 arrests were recorded in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. Palestinian Prisoners Association, A non-governmental organization dedicated to addressing the concerns of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. That figure includes 145 children and 55 women.