Ramallah/Tel Aviv, 28 November 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Israel has released another group of Palestinian prisoners from custody in return for the release of 10 Israeli hostages held in Gaza until Tuesday evening.

The 30 prisoners released from different Israeli jails are 15 women, some of them minors, and 15 male minors, the youngest being 14 years old, the Israeli prison authority said on Tuesday evening.

It was the latest group of Palestinian prisoners to be released as part of a truce agreement between Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza war negotiated by Qatar and Egypt.

The deal forsees a pause in fighting for several days as well as the swapping of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the October 7 attacks for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

The initial four-day truce agreement, which came into force on Friday, was extended for another two days on Monday.

The Palestinian prisoners released so far had been convicted of offences including knife attacks on Israelis, arson and attacks using firebombs or stones. In total, 180 Palestinian prisoners have been released from Israeli prisons since the ceasefire began last week.

In return, Hamas has released a total of 81 hostages, including 61 Israelis. One male Israeli, who also has Russian citizenship, was released on Monday evening as a gesture of goodwill to Russia, with no Palestinians being released in return.

Photo: EPA