LONDON: The International Committee of the Red Cross transferred three Palestinians who were detained in Israeli prisons into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
The detainees were transferred to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, where they were reunited with their families, according to the Palestine News Agency.
The ICRC has, with Israel, coordinated the transfer of at least 3,472 Palestinian detainees into the coastal enclave since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023.
Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians during its deadly campaign in Gaza, most of whom were later released. As of last December, there were an estimated 1,477 people from Gaza detained in Israel, though there are no official records.
The ICRC facilitated the transfer of 360 deceased Palestinians to Gaza, as well as 195 Israeli hostages captured by Hamas, including 35 deceased since late 2023.
Last week, Israeli lawmakers proposed a bill that would impose a blanket ban on ICRC representatives from entering Israeli prisons and visiting Palestinian detainees.
Israel allowed ICRC workers to visit political detainees and pass information to their families after it occupied the Palestinian territories of Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967. But since the Gaza war, Israel has started to ban ICRC representatives from visiting more than 9,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Israel requested that the ICRC meet hostages held by Hamas after the war began. The aid group said at the time that it could visit when an agreement and safe access were granted.
