Jerusalem: The Israeli prison authorities has released 30 Palestinian prisoners after Hamas freed 8 hostages in the seventh round of swaps under a ceasefire deal.
The Israeli prison service has confirmed that 30 more Palestinians have been released as part of the ongoing humanitarian truce which is set to expire on Friday after it was extended for 24 hours the previous day.
The names of the freed Palestinians have however, been witheld, the BBC reported.
Hamas released six more Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip in addition to two female hostages released earlier on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
In a statement, the IDF added that the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had transferred the hostages to Egypt. They reached a meeting point with Israeli soldiers at Kerem Shalom, a border crossing connecting Gaza, Egypt and Israel.
From there, the hostages would undergo an initial medical assessment at the Hatzerim Base in southern Israel before being taken to hospitals, where they would be reunited with their families, the IDF said.
The newly released hostages include an 18-year-old Bedouin man, his 17-year-old sister and four Israeli women, according to a statement released by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office, Xinhua news agency reported.
Meanwhile, the truce, which was only renewed at the last minute for the seventh day, is set to expire again at around 7 a.m. local time (about 10.30 a.m. IST) on Friday.
The military wing of Hamas is calling for its forces to remain on “high combat readiness” in case the ceasefire isn’t extended.
Thursday’s extension was the second of the initial four-day truce that commenced on Novermber 24.
It was extended for two more days on Tuesday.
Since the start of the pause, 240 Palestinians, 86 Israelis, and 24 foreign nationals have reportedly been released.
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