Israel releases 30 Palestinian prisoners as Gaza truce deadline approaches

The Israeli Prison Service has said Israeli authorities had released the latest batch of Palestinian detainees after a delay of several hours.

Live video footage showed several Red Cross vehicles carrying the Palestinians who were released from Ofer Prison, per Al Jazeera.

Earlier reports said the release was delayed due to confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinians in the town of Beitunia, where Ofer Prison is located.

The overnight releases, which came after a sixth batch of hostages were freed from Gaza, bring the number of Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel under a truce deal to 210.

Hamas and other militants in Gaza have released 70 Israelis under the deal, along with nearly 30 hostages of other nationalities outside the truce framework.

The released hostages and prisoners have been greeted with celebrations by friends and family, but clashes have erupted for several nights between Palestinians and Israeli security forces outside the Ofer Prison.