Release of Hisham Sayed, “The Forgotten Prisoner” from Gaza Strip
After the announcement of the names of hostages scheduled for release at the end of the first phase of
the Gaza agreement, Hisham Sayed’s name emerged among the six listed. Many were surprised to see
an Arab name included.
According to i24 News, Hisham Shaban Sayed was detained in April 2015 after independently crossing
the border into the Gaza Strip through the orchards of Kibbutz Erez. Hisham Sayed, now 36 years old, is
an Arab-Israeli citizen born in the Negev. His family reports that he suffers from schizophrenia.
Initially, he was reported missing, and his family had no knowledge of what had happened to him.
Later, surveillance footage from cameras along the separation fence revealed him infiltrating Gaza’s
territory.
In 2022, Hamas announced a decline in Hisham Sayed’s health condition and released a video
documenting his state. Over the years, his family refrained from exerting public pressure for his release.
For the past decade, all efforts to secure a deal for his freedom in exchange for Palestinian security
prisoners held in Israeli jails have failed. As a result, his name was added to the list of “forgotten
prisoners” in the Gaza Strip.
Media reports have noted that Sayed, part of the Arab 48 community living in Israel, volunteered in the
Israeli army around 2008.
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