Hamas co-founder Hassan Yousef, 71, was released from Israeli administrative detention on Thursday, Yousef's son Owais confirmed to local and international media on Thursday night.
In addition to his son's confirmation, Hamas released an official statement confirming that Yousef had been released, congratulating him and his family, and mentioning that he had spent more than 20 years in prison, cumulatively. Before his most recent detention, he was released in July 2020 after 16 months in prison.
After having been detained most recently since October 2023, Yousef was reportedly released near Hebron and taken directly to a hospital in Ramallah. Media reports indicated that he was not given a trial and therefore not charged with anything during this latest detention and release.
'I can't sleep because of the pain'
Footage reviewed by Agence France-Presse (AFP) appeared to show Yousef lying in a hospital bed with one arm in a sling; the source of his injury is not publicly known, according to the media outlet. The footage also reportedly captured Yousef telling loved ones, "I can't sleep because of the pain."
Yousef is a senior leader of Hamas in the West Bank, a report from the AFP noted, having co-founded the group in 1987 along with Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and other Palestinian members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
He is also the father of Mosab Hassan Yousef, who wrote a book titled Son of Hamas in 2010, and has rallied against the terror group since defecting in the 1990s. Yousef worked with Israeli counter-intelligence and helped the Mossad in various operations – including incarcerating his own father