Palestinians gather in Gaza and celebrate the arrival of freed prisoners

Thousands of people gathered in and around the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, awaiting the arrival of the freed prisoners, with some waving Palestinian flags and others holding photos of their relatives.

Fighting back tears, a woman who asked to be identified as Um Ahmed said that despite her joy at the release, she still had “mixed feelings” about the day.

“I’m happy for our children who are being freed, but we are still grieving for all those who were killed by the occupation and all the destruction that happened in our Gaza,” she told Reuters in a voicemail.

The freed prisoners arrived in buses, some of them posing in the windows, displaying “V for Victory” signs. They will undergo medical examinations at hospital facilities.

Earlier, about a dozen masked and black-clad gunmen, members of Hamas’ armed wing, arrived at the hospital, where a stage and chairs were set up to receive the returning Palestinian prisoners. Loudspeakers played music celebrating the Palestinian national cause.

Hamas said 154 prisoners were also deported to Egypt.