Israel releases 30 Palestinian prisoners in latest exchange — prison authorities

Thirty Palestinian prisoners were freed overnight Thursday, the Israeli prison authorities said, in the latest exchange under an extended truce deal due to expire within hours.

The prisoners — including 23 minors and seven women — were released hours after eight Israeli hostages were freed by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The truce agreement between Israel and Hamas stipulates that a minimum of 10 Israeli hostages should be released alive each day.

But a source close to Hamas told AFP that two Russian-Israeli women were freed on Wednesday in addition to 10 others made up for only eight Israelis being released on Thursday.

Mediator Qatar appeared to back the calculation.

Since it came into force on 24 November, the truce agreement has resulted in the freeing of 110 hostages, including 80 Israelis.

The majority of the 30 non-Israeli hostages freed were from Thailand, released under a separate agreement.

Israel has freed 240 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.