In April 2022, there were 4,450 Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli prisons – including 160 children, 32 women, and over 1000 "administrative detainees" (indefinitely incarcerated without charge).

Releasing the hostages unilaterally will not alleviate the violence and tension. It would be seen as a defeat by Hamas and will serve to stoke up further tension. So how how about negotiating a prisoner exchange? Both sides are holding citizens of the other side completely unjustly. Stop the shooting and get round that table...

From Wikipedia