ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Today marks the first full day of a new ceasefire in Gaza aimed at ending the war that's dragged on for more than 15 months. Last night, Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees just outside of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
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SHAPIRO: They were released hours after Hamas handed over three Israeli hostages who had been kept in Gaza since the October 7 attacks that triggered the war. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf is in Ramallah and was at that prisoner release last night. Hi, Kat.
KAT LONSDORF, BYLINE: Hey there.
SHAPIRO: What was the scene like last night?
LONSDORF: Yeah. it was a really celebratory scene. You know, there were families and hundreds of people there, waving Palestinian flags. People were draped in traditional keffiyeh scarves. There were kids. There were balloons. They were eating sweets. People were celebrating not just the release of their loved ones, but also the hopeful end to a brutal and devastating war for Palestinians in Gaza. But it was a long, long wait. People were waiting seven, eight hours outside in the cold.
SHAPIRO: Wow.
LONSDORF: The detainees were finally released around 2:00 a.m., and then it just erupted into chaos as they were greeted and hugged and hoisted onto shoulders.
SHAPIRO: What can you tell us about who these people are?
LONSDORF: So it was mostly women of all ages and then some boys under the age of 18 released last night, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Association. All of the people released this time were arrested after the war began in Gaza in 2023. The number of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails has more or less doubled since the war began in Gaza. Many but certainly not all of them were being held in what's known as administrative detention. That's an ambiguous situation without a sentence or trial.
I talked to several family members last night waiting for mothers or daughters, who described situations like that, saying that they weren't really sure what their loved one had been arrested for and hadn't been able to get any information. Like Alaa Malawani. She was waiting for her 23-year-old daughter to be released.
ALAA MALAWANI: (Speaking Arabic).
LONSDORF: She told me that five months ago, Israeli soldiers stormed into their house in the middle of the night, accusing her daughter of posting things on social media in support of Gaza. She said she hadn't been allowed any contact with her daughter since. You know, that's not to say that there aren't people with very serious charges also being released in these prisoner and detainee releases, but many of those are expected in coming weeks.
SHAPIRO: What have you learned about the conditions in Israeli jails for Palestinians right now?
LONSDORF: I've talked to Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups who monitor this and also several recently released Palestinians from Israeli jails, and all have described very harsh conditions. All say that they've gotten significantly worse since the war in Gaza began. We're talking not enough food, not adequate clothing, very crowded and unclean cells. And it's become difficult, if not impossible, to get legal help. International monitoring groups are not allowed access either. Israel's prison service has defended its treatment of Palestinian prisoners and say that they have a right to file a complaint if they feel otherwise.
SHAPIRO: As you mentioned, there's a lot more to come in the ceasefire deal. This is the first of several planned releases of hostages and prisoners. So what comes next?
LONSDORF: So the ceasefire appears to be holding for its first full day in Gaza, like you said. There's been a surge in humanitarian aid that has entered Gaza - somewhere around a thousand trucks since the ceasefire went into effect yesterday, and that should continue. Meanwhile, the next hostage and prisoner exchange should be next weekend. We're still waiting on the exact details of that. And negotiations to extend this deal past this initial six-week phase should begin in the coming weeks.
SHAPIRO: NPR's Kat Lonsdorf in Ramallah. Thank you.
LONSDORF: Thank you.
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