Israel releases 39 Palestinian prisoners as Hamas frees 17 hostages
Israel announced early on Sunday that they had released 39 Palestinian prisoners after Palestinian military organization Hamas freed 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals in the latest stage of a four-day ceasefire.
Television footage showed hostages on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing after leaving Gaza, as Hamas handed over the captives to the International Committee of the Red Cross late on Saturday.
Of the 13 Israelis released, six were women and seven were children and teenagers.
'The released hostages are on their way to hospitals in Israel, where they will reunite with their families,' the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
Among the Palestinian prisoners released from two Israeli prisons, six were women and 33 were minors, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Some of those released arrived at Al-Bireh municipality square in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where thousands of citizens were waiting for them.
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