JEURSALEM: The Israel Prison Service said on Friday it was taking measures to prevent any “public displays of joy” when Palestinian prisoners are released as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
It said in a statement that it was preparing for the release of prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostages held in Gaza, which the prime minister’s office said could begin on Sunday.
The prison service said that two jails, one near Jerusalem and another near the southern city of Ashkelon, had begun preparations for the releases by gathering prisoners to be freed.
“The commissioner of the Israel Prison Service, Major General Kobi Yakobi, instructed that.. to prevent public displays of joy in Ashkelon and other areas of Israel, the escort from ‘Shikma’ Prison will not be handled by civilian buses of the (International Committee of the) Red Cross,” the statement said.
The Geneva-based ICRC oversaw the only previous prisoner exchange of the war, in November 2023, when 105 hostages held in Gaza were freed, the 80 Israelis among them in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Instead “special units” from the prison service would handle transport, the statement said.
Jakobi also told prisoners earmarked for release to “refrain from expressions of joy within Israel.”
Israel’s security cabinet approved the deal on Friday and it now goes before the full cabinet.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir urged his political allies to reject the deal in a statement on Friday, pointing to the releases.
He said that Palestinians “serving life sentences” for killing Israelis would be released in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
“I call on my friends in Likud and Religious Zionism, it’s not too late, we are before a government meeting, this deal can still be stopped,” he said, referring to two other parties in the governing coalition.
During the initial 42 days of the ceasefire, 33 hostages are to be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, according to mediators and officials from both sides.
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Israel wants no celebrations when Palestinian prisoners freed in Gaza deal
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Israel wants no celebrations when Palestinian prisoners freed in Gaza deal
- “The commissioner of the Israel Prison Service, Major General Kobi Yakobi, instructed that.. to prevent public displays of joy in Ashkelon,” the statement said
- Instead “special units” from the prison service would handle transport
MSF calls Israeli ban a ‘grave blow’ to Gaza aid
- Doctors Without Borders is among 37 foreign humanitarian organizations banned from the territory
- The group, which has hundreds of staff in Gaza, says: 'Denying medical assistance to civilians is unacceptable'
JERUSALEM: International charity Doctors Without Borders Friday condemned a “grave blow to humanitarian aid” after Israel revoked the status it needs to operate in Gaza for refusing to share Palestinian staff lists.
Israel on Thursday confirmed it had banned access to the Gaza Strip to 37 foreign humanitarian organizations for refusing to share lists of their Palestinian employees.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which has 1,200 staff members in the Palestinian territories, the majority of them in Gaza, said in a statement that “denying medical assistance to civilians is unacceptable under any circumstances.”
The medical organization argued that it had “legitimate concerns” over new Israeli requirements for foreign NGO registration, specifically the disclosing of personal information about Palestinian staff.
It pointed to the fact that 15 MSF staff had been “killed by Israeli forces,” and that access to any given territory should not be conditional on staff list disclosure.
“Demanding staff lists as a condition for access to territory is an outrageous overreach,” the charity said.
MSF also denounced “the absence of any clarity about how such sensitive data will be used, stored, or shared,” charging that Israeli forces “have killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of civilians” in Gaza during the course of the war.
It also charged that Israel had “manufactured shortages of basic necessities by blocking and delaying the entry of essential goods, including medical supplies.”
Israel controls and regulates all entry points into Gaza, which is surrounded by a wall that began to be built in 2005.
Felipe Ribero, MSF head of mission in the Palestinian territories, told AFP that all of its operations were still ongoing in Gaza.
“We are supposed to leave under 60 days, but we don’t know whether it will be three or 60 days” before Israeli authorities force MSF to leave, he said.
Prominent humanitarian organizations hit by the Israeli ban include the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), World Vision International and Oxfam, according to an Israeli ministry list.
The ban, which came into effect on December 31, 2025 at midnight, has triggered widespread international condemnation.
Israel says the new regulation aims to prevent bodies it accuses of supporting terrorism from operating in the Palestinian territories.
MSF says it currently supports one in five hospital beds in Gaza and assists one in three mothers in the territory, and urged the Israeli authorities to meet to discuss the ban.
Israel on Thursday confirmed it had banned access to the Gaza Strip to 37 foreign humanitarian organizations for refusing to share lists of their Palestinian employees.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which has 1,200 staff members in the Palestinian territories, the majority of them in Gaza, said in a statement that “denying medical assistance to civilians is unacceptable under any circumstances.”
The medical organization argued that it had “legitimate concerns” over new Israeli requirements for foreign NGO registration, specifically the disclosing of personal information about Palestinian staff.
It pointed to the fact that 15 MSF staff had been “killed by Israeli forces,” and that access to any given territory should not be conditional on staff list disclosure.
“Demanding staff lists as a condition for access to territory is an outrageous overreach,” the charity said.
MSF also denounced “the absence of any clarity about how such sensitive data will be used, stored, or shared,” charging that Israeli forces “have killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of civilians” in Gaza during the course of the war.
It also charged that Israel had “manufactured shortages of basic necessities by blocking and delaying the entry of essential goods, including medical supplies.”
Israel controls and regulates all entry points into Gaza, which is surrounded by a wall that began to be built in 2005.
Felipe Ribero, MSF head of mission in the Palestinian territories, told AFP that all of its operations were still ongoing in Gaza.
“We are supposed to leave under 60 days, but we don’t know whether it will be three or 60 days” before Israeli authorities force MSF to leave, he said.
Prominent humanitarian organizations hit by the Israeli ban include the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), World Vision International and Oxfam, according to an Israeli ministry list.
The ban, which came into effect on December 31, 2025 at midnight, has triggered widespread international condemnation.
Israel says the new regulation aims to prevent bodies it accuses of supporting terrorism from operating in the Palestinian territories.
MSF says it currently supports one in five hospital beds in Gaza and assists one in three mothers in the territory, and urged the Israeli authorities to meet to discuss the ban.
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