Today is the third of a four-day pause in fighting in Gaza during which some of those being held hostage by Hamas are being freed in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas released a total of 14 Israelis and three foreign nationals earlier in the day, and the Israel prison service has now confirmed the release of 39 Palestinian prisoners.
It came a day after 13 Israelis were released in return for another 39 prisoners. On Friday, 24 hostages – 13 Israelis, 10 Thais, and one Filipino – were returned to Israel, again in return for 39 Palestinian prisoners.
It brings the total number of hostages released during the window to 54 and the number of prisoners freed to 117.
In October, two American and two Israeli hostages were also released, while an Israeli soldier was freed during ground operations in Gaza.
