Israel releases 5 Palestinian detainees from Gaza after months of detention

Israel released five Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip after months in detention, the Hamas-run Prisoners' Information Office said Thursday.

The office said that the freed detainees were transferred by Red Cross teams to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza for medical examinations.

Among the freed prisoners was nurse Tasneem Al-Hams, the daughter of Dr. Marwan Al-Hams, the head of field hospitals in Gaza who remains detained in Israeli prisons.

The doctor was abducted by Israeli special forces on July 21 while on a medical mission in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.

Last month, Israel released nearly 2,000 prisoners, including 1,700 from Gaza, under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas. Most of those released at the time arrived in poor health, with several recounting experiences of torture, starvation, and humiliation inside Israeli prisons.

More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, remain imprisoned in Israel, where they endure medical neglect and conditions that have led to the deaths of numerous detainees, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations.

Phase one of the ceasefire deal includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.

Israel has killed nearly 70,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,000 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023.