The Prison Service said in a statement that Palestinians were released from prisons in Israel, the occupied West Bank, and Jerusalem.
The release of this sixth batch of Palestinian prisoners came shortly after Hamas released an additional batch of hostages it was holding in the Gaza Strip, consisting of 16 hostages, including 10 Israeli hostages who were released in accordance with the agreement, and 4 Thais and two Russian women who were released by Hamas in isolation from this agreement.
The ten Israeli hostages and the four Thais who were released by Hamas in Gaza arrived in Israel, according to what the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced on Wednesday-Thursday night.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid Al-Ansari said on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that “the released Israelis detained in Gaza include 5 minors and 5 women, including dual nationals: a Dutch minor, three Germans, and one American woman,” indicating that in exchange for these, the Qatari Foreign Ministry will be released. Israel releases 30 Palestinian prisoners.
The International Committee of the Red Cross announced that “16 hostages who were being held in Gaza have just been released, facilitated by the Committee.”
Two Palestinian officials told Reuters that talks are continuing on a possible extension of the truce, which expires early Thursday morning, but no agreement has yet been reached.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Wednesday that he would work with the Israelis during his visit to Israel to determine whether it is possible to extend the temporary ceasefire.
An Israeli official said earlier that it would be impossible to extend the truce without committing to the release of all women and children hostage. He added that Israel believes that the militants are still holding enough women and children to extend the truce for two or three days.
A Palestinian official said that negotiators were considering whether to release Israeli men on conditions different from the exchange of three Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli hostage that previously applied to women and children.
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