Israeli army releases 9 Palestinian detainees from Gaza

By Hosni Nedim and Betul Yilmaz

GAZA CITY, Palestine / ISTANBUL (AA) – The Israeli army released nine Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip on Monday, witnesses said.

The detainees were set free at the Israeli-controlled Kissufim crossing in eastern Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip, they added.

The freed Palestinians appeared in poor health and were transported to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah by Red Cross vehicles, according to an Anadolu reporter.

There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian group Hamas or Israeli authorities on the report.

Last week, some 80 Palestinian detainees were released from Israeli prisons, with at least 10 of them in critical health conditions.

There are no exact figures about the number of Gazans held by Israel, but estimates suggest that their numbers are in the thousands.

The Israeli army renewed its assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a Jan. 19 ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

Nearly 51,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.