Among the individuals to be freed are members of terrorist organizations responsible for some of the deadliest attacks against Israelis, including child and baby killers, suicide bombing planners, and senior operatives in groups like Hamas and Fatah.
Among the most notable names being released are:
- Amar Alzban: A senior leader in the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. He is responsible for a series of attacks that killed 27 Israelis, for which he was sentenced to 27 life sentences in prison.
- Bilal Abu Ghanem: The terrorist behind the 2015 attack on bus line 78 in Armon Hanatziv, Jerusalem, which killed 3 Israelis.
- Abd al-Nasser Isa: One of the senior aides to Yehya Ayyash, also known as "The Engineer," a top Hamas operative in the West Bank. Isa was sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple attacks against Israelis.
- Majdi Zaatari: A member of a terror cell responsible for attacks on bus lines 2 and 14 in Jerusalem in 2003. These attacks killed 23 Israelis, including 7 children, and injured many others. Zaatari was involved in planning several other bombings.
- Nayel Barghouti: A veteran Palestinian prisoner who murdered Mordechai Yekuel in 1978. He was released in the Gilad Shalit deal but was arrested again.
- Ibrahim Abd al-Hai: A commander of a cell that carried out a suicide bombing at the Em Hamoshavot Mall in Petah Tikva in 2002, killing a grandmother and her 1-year-old granddaughter. Abd al-Hai was sentenced to 11 life sentences.
- Iyad Mahlous: A life prisoner from East Jerusalem who attempted to smuggle mobile phones into prison.
- Ahmed Aref al-Asafra: A member of the cell responsible for the 2019 murder of Dvir Shorek near Migdal Oz in Gush Etzion.
- Ahmed Awad: A terrorist serving seven life sentences for aiding the terrorist who murdered seven Israelis in the 2003 Café Hillel attack.
- Ashraf Alawi: Responsible for the 1993 attack in Dir Balut that killed two Israeli soldiers. Alawi was released in the Gilad Shalit deal but arrested again.
- Akram Hamad: The head of a Fatah cell responsible for multiple shooting attacks in the Binyamin area during the Second Intifada, including the murders of Assaf Hershkovitz and Idit Mizrahi.
- Anwar and Mazouz Basharat: Members of a terror cell that murdered 72-year-old Israeli Masoud Alon in 2003. Alon had been missing for a day, and his body was found next to his burned car in the Jordan Valley.
- Bashir Kharoub: A terrorist responsible for the 2013 murder of Colonel (ret.) Shariah Ya'ya Ofer in his home in the settlement of Brosh HaBeka.
- Tamer Rimawi: A senior Tanzim operative responsible for the 2003 attack in Halamish.
- Hussam Khalabi: A member of the Fatah terror cell that murdered Avi and Avital Walensky in Samaria in 2002.
- Hamza Abu Arqoub: Part of the cell responsible for the 2002 murder of brothers Shlomo and Mordechai Nahman in the Tappuah shooting attack.
- Khaled Khadish: One of the founders of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, arrested since the Second Intifada and serving life sentences.
- Khalil Youssef Jabarin: The terrorist who murdered Ari Fuld in a stabbing attack in 2018 at the Gush Etzion Junction.
- Rajeb Aliwa: Commander of the cell responsible for the 2015 murders of Itamar and Naama Henkin in the West Bank.
- Mohammad and Raad Kharoub: Members of the terror cell that murdered policeman Shuki Sofer in a 2010 attack near Hebron.
- Samer Machroom: A terrorist who murdered Eliyahu Amadi in Jerusalem in 1986 and was later released in the Gilad Shalit deal.
- Sohail Koka: Assisted in the 2005 murders of two IDF soldiers in the Megalim area.
- Mohammad Abu Senina: Responsible for the 2008 murders of Border Police officers Rami Zuari and David Shariki.
- Nahar Saadi: Assisted the suicide bomber in the 2003 attack at the Emek Mall in Afula, which killed 3 civilians and injured 70.
- Hani Hamaisa: A former Palestinian Authority officer who murdered Stanislav Sandomirski near Ramallah in 2001 and hid his body in the trunk of his car.
- Haytham Btate: A member of the Hamas cell responsible for two attacks, one in Be'er Sheva that killed two soldiers and another in Hebron that killed two Israelis.
- Waal Alargah: One of the terrorists responsible for the 2011 stone-throwing attack that killed Asher Palmer and his 1-year-old son Yonatan in Kiryat Arba.
- Yousef Kamil: A terrorist who murdered Reuven Shmerling in 2017 in Kafr Qasem.
This release marks a significant and controversial moment in Israeli-Palestinian relations, as many of those freed are directly responsible for the deaths of innocent civilians, including children and soldiers. The deal has sparked significant debate over its potential impact on regional stability and the ongoing conflict.
