Hamas has urged US President Donald Trump to meet with Palestinian detainees released as part of the ongoing truce in Gaza, following his recent meeting with freed Israeli hostages.
In an open letter addressed to Trump on Friday, senior Hamas leader Basem Naim called for equal recognition of Palestinian detainees, stating that just as the US president acknowledged the “unbearable suffering” of Israeli hostages, he should also show the same level of respect to freed Palestinian detainees and hear their stories.
According to Naim, more than 9,500 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons. As part of the truce that began on January 19, Israel has released around 1,800 Palestinian detainees in exchange for 33 Israeli captives, eight of whom were deceased.
A previous ceasefire in late November 2023 saw the release of 105 hostages in return for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Of the 251 people abducted by Hamas during its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, 58 remain in captivity, with 34 declared dead by the Israeli military. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel’s subsequent military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 48,446 people, mostly civilian women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The United Nations has deemed these figures very reliable.
