Kazem Zawahra, a Palestinian prisoner severely injured and in a coma, was transferred to a Bethlehem hospital as part of the ongoing prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel.

The Palestinian Red Crescent in Jerusalem received Palestinian prisoner Kazem Zawahra early on Thursday morning, as part of the prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel.

In a brief statement, the organization confirmed that its crews transferred the wounded prisoner, who has been in a coma for months, from the Israeli Hadassah Ein Kerem to Al-Hussein Hospital in Beit Jala, Bethlehem, in the southern West Bank.

The moment Red Crescent crews receive released prisoner Kazem Zawahra — who has been in a coma for months — from Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, before transferring him to the city of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank. pic.twitter.com/kVgsGSJK1C

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) February 27, 2025

Zawahra, who was critically injured, had previously been scheduled for release but the exchange was delayed last Saturday when the Israeli occupation postponed the seventh batch of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

Zawahra was injured on February 22, 2024, while his brother Muhammad was killed, along with Ahmed al-Wahsh, after being shot by the Israeli occupation forces at the Al-Zaim military checkpoint near occupied Jerusalem.

The Prisoners’ Affairs Authority and Palestinian Prisoners’ Club had previously stated that Zawahra, from Bethlehem, remains in a severe condition and is dependent on a ventilator.

"The prisoners are in grave danger… Do not give up on the prisoners' file!"

A freed detainee from Gaza, released today as part of the current deal, appeals for urgent attention to the plight of Palestinian prisoners facing harsh conditions inside Israeli prisons. pic.twitter.com/vJRO1wO0WB

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) February 27, 2025

As part of the deal, Israel released 42 Palestinian prisoners to the West Bank and Jerusalem. 

A total of 620 prisoners are expected to be released in the seventh batch of the exchange agreement between the resistance and Israel under the Gaza ceasefire accord.

Between October 7, 2023, and January 19, 2025, the Israeli occupation, with US support, carried out what many view as a genocidal campaign in Gaza, leaving over 160,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, the majority of whom are women and children, and more than 14,000 missing.

(PC, AJA)