October 13, 2025 Prisoner Exchange: 1,968 Palestinian Prisoners Freed

On 13 October 2025, 1,968 Palestinian prisoners were freed, 250 of them from the West Bank, Jerusalem and elsewhere and 1,718 from the Gaza Strip, detained after 7 October 2023, under the agreement to end the war and the ceasefire, in return for 20 living Israeli captives handed by the Qassam Brigades to the Red Cross. ^[1][2]

Contents

1. The deal at a glance
2. The agreement and how it unfolded
3. Who was freed
4. Prisoners with the heaviest sentences
5. Those who remained behind bars
6. Timeline
7. Frequently asked questions about the 13 October 2025 exchange

The deal at a glance

^[1][3][2]

The agreement and how it unfolded

US President Donald Trump announced the agreement on Thursday 9 October, and the first phase of the ceasefire took effect at noon on Friday 10 October, Jerusalem time. On the morning of Monday 13 October the Qassam Brigades handed 20 living Israeli captives to the International Committee of the Red Cross in two batches, seven and then thirteen. ^[3][2]

The Israeli Prison Service announced the release of 1,968 prisoners, as reported by Al Jazeera Net. Al-Qassam announced it would hand over the bodies of four captives, and the handover of bodies continued over the following weeks. ^[4]

Who was freed

According to Al Jazeera Net, 250 of those freed came from the West Bank, Jerusalem and elsewhere, among them 192 life-sentence prisoners, 25 with high sentences and 32 detainees. By faction they were 157 from Fatah, 65 from Hamas, 16 from Islamic Jihad, 11 from the Popular Front and one from the Democratic Front. 1,718 prisoners were freed from Gaza. ^[1][3]

Among the women, prisoners Marfat Sarhan and Siham Abu Salem were freed, leaving 52 women in custody according to WAFA. ^[1]

Prisoners with the heaviest sentences

The table is part of Al Jazeera Net’s list of 15 prisoners. ^[3]

Those who remained behind bars

According to WAFA about 9,100 prisoners remained in the central prisons, in addition to hundreds in army camps, and about 400 children. At least 78 prisoners and detainees have died in custody since the war began. In the three deals 3,985 prisoners were freed: 240 in November 2023, 1,777 in January and February 2025 and 1,968 in this one. Rights organisations documented at least 70 cases of re-arrest among those freed in earlier deals. ^[1]

Timeline

Frequently asked questions about the 13 October 2025 exchange

How many prisoners were freed in the October 2025 deal?

1,968 prisoners, 1,718 from Gaza and 250 from the West Bank, Jerusalem and elsewhere. ^[1]

How many life-sentence prisoners were there?

192 of the 250 according to Al Jazeera Net, while WAFA’s headline says 250 life-sentence prisoners; see “Between the accounts”. ^[1][3]

How many living captives were released?

20, seven then thirteen. ^[2]

How many were freed in the three deals in total?

3,985 prisoners according to WAFA. ^[1]

Sources and references

1. WAFA, “Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and Prisoners’ Club: 1,968 prisoners, 250 of them serving life sentences, freed today from the occupation’s prisons”, 13 October 2025 (in Arabic).
2. Al Jazeera Net, “Al-Qassam frees all living Israeli captives”, 13 October 2025 (in Arabic).
3. Al Jazeera Net, “The most prominent Palestinian prisoners in the exchange between Hamas and Israel”, 13 October 2025 (in Arabic).
4. Al Jazeera Net, “Al-Qassam to hand over the bodies of four Israeli captives”, 13 October 2025 (in Arabic).