The Houthi rebels and the internationally recognized government plan to exchange about 2,900 detainees, a rare humanitarian win at a time of deepening political stalemate.
The government faces a dilemma over what to do with civil-war-era prisons and detention camps that hold thousands of ISIS fighters and tens of thousands of their family members.
Under the cease-fire deal, Israel released 250 Palestinians serving long sentences for violent attacks. More than 1,700 others had been detained in Gaza and held without charge.
Israel agreed to free 250 Palestinians serving life sentences, many of whom will be sent into exile. For their families, it brought joy. But for those whose relatives were excluded, it was a crushing blow.
Israel largely destroyed Evin prison, one of Iran’s most infamous symbols of oppression, in June. Less than two months later, Iran began returning male prisoners.
Two were seized after Israel and the United States attacked Iranian targets in June, and two others have been held since 2024.
Thousands went missing during Syria’s decades-long intervention in Lebanon. Months after the fall of the Syrian regime, families are still clinging to hope.
The June 23 airstrikes on Evin prison, including the hospital ward, have turned it from a hated symbol of oppression into a new rallying cry against Israel, even among the Iranian regime’s domestic critics.
The June 23 airstrikes on Evin prison, including the hospital ward, have turned it from a hated symbol of oppression into a new rallying cry against Israel, even among the Iranian regime’s domestic critics.
The June 23 airstrikes on Evin prison, including the hospital ward, have turned it from a hated symbol of oppression into a new rallying cry against Israel, even among the Iranian regime’s domestic critics.