Jerusalem ( CNN ) -- Palestinian inmates began leaving Israeli jails early Tuesday , setting in motion the historic swap that will trade more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for one captured Israeli soldier . A total of 477 prisoners were being moved to meeting points with the Red Cross , according to a spokeswoman at Israel 's Prison Authority . Israeli radio reported that more than 1,000 police officers were deployed to ensure public order and the safety of the convoys , which headed to the Egyptian border . Late Monday , the Israeli Supreme Court rejected appeals against the release of prisoners in exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit . Israel and Hamas approved the deal last week , agreeing to release in two stages 1,027 Palestinian prisoners , including hundreds serving life sentences for attacks on Israelis . The second stage is scheduled to happen later this year . Shalit has been held incommunicado by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas , which controls Gaza , since his seizure . The Israeli public overwhelmingly supports the swap for Shalit , an Israeli army sergeant who was abducted in a raid in 2006 , when he was 19 years old . Israelis are equally split on whether `` the release of terrorists '' will harm Israeli security , with 50 % saying `` Yes '' and 48 % saying `` No '' -- a statistical tie given the number of people polled . Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote to the families of terror victims to say he understood their pain . `` You were in my thoughts during the many uncertainties that have accompanied me in the negotiations , '' he said in the letter , which was released by his office . `` The decision regarding the release of Gilad Shalit is one of the hardest I have taken ... I understand the difficulty in digesting that these villains who committed these crimes against your loved ones will not be paying the full price that they deserve to , '' Netanyahu wrote . But , he said : `` The state of Israel does not abandon its soldiers and its citizens . '' Nearly eight out of 10 Israelis favor the deal , according to the poll of 500 people conducted by the Dahaf Polling Institute for the daily Yedioth Aharonoth . The families of some Palestinian prisoners being released had mixed feelings about the swap , they told CNN . Mohamad Abu Khalil , whose son Ayman got three life sentences plus 90 years in jail , is glad his son is being freed -- but said he wo n't be coming home . `` It 's better that Ayman is going to be released from Israeli jails , but sad that he wo n't be around his family here . It 's better to be transferred to another country than being in Israeli jails , '' his father said . The official Israeli list of prisoner releases lists him as being sent `` abroad , '' rather than to Gaza or the West Bank , without specifying where . The Israel Defense Forces declared a number of sites connected to the prisoner transfer and Shalit release to be closed military zones as of Monday . The prisoners list released by Israel features 477 names , including those of Ahlam Tamimi , serving life terms for being an accomplice in the 2001 bombing of a Sbarro pizza restaurant , and Amneh Muna , who plotted the killing of a 16-year-old Israeli boy in 2001 and received a life sentence . The most notable name not on the list is that of jailed Palestinian lawmaker Marwan Barghouti , who is serving five life sentences . He was convicted in an Israeli court on murder and other charges related to his role in planning attacks on Israelis during the second Intifada . Israel 's Prisons Authority said the Palestinians slated for release are being taken to two facilities -- one for the 27 female prisoners on the list , the rest for the men -- from which they will be released together . Once freed , they will be under various restrictions on a case-by-case basis : Some will not be allowed to leave the country , while others will have other restrictions on their movement or be required to report their whereabouts to local police , Justice Ministry spokesman Moshe Cohen told CNN . Shalit , meanwhile , will be transferred back into Israeli territory via the Kerem Shalom border crossing and will undergo medical tests and debriefing at an air force base , the Israeli military said . Once that is complete , he will be flown to his home at Mitzpe Hila , north of Haifa . CNN 's Guy Azriel , Kareem Khadder , Michal Zippori and Kevin Flower contributed to this report .
NEW : Trains carrying Palestinian prisoners depart from Gaza . NEW : They are headed to the Egyptian border . Israel declares closed military zones around those involved in the exchange . Israel is forced to release more than 1,000 prisoners for the captured soldier .