Palestinian leader Khalida Jarrar expected to be released in ceasefire deal

Relatives of Palestinian prisoner Khalida Jarrar were bracing on Saturday for her release in the first wave of exchanges agreed upon as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

The Palestinian political leader and human rights and feminist advocate has been held in administrative detention since December 2023. She has reportedly spent the past six months in solitary confinement in a 2-by-1.5m cell.

As the hour of the agreed releases approached, Palestinian and Israeli media reported that Jarrar would be among up to 1,900 Palestinian prisoners expected to be freed on Sunday.

Jarrar's sister, Salam Alratrot, told Middle East Eye that the prospect of the 61-year-old's release gave her hope that Jarrar would at least leave solitary confinement and end the harshest imprisonment she has ever endured.

However, Alratrot said her family feels “intense sadness and diminished joy” over the many tragedies Jarrar has suffered during her numerous periods of detention over the past three decades.

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