In a major development, the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing in the Gaza Strip yesterday received eight Palestinian prisoners set for deportation after being released by Israel as part of the ongoing ceasefire deal with the armed group Hamas. According to sources, the released Palestinians will be deported to Turkiye, Qatar, Algeria, and Tunisia, after being transferred to Cairo. The source further said that Egypt would serve as a transit point for these released Palestinian prisoners until their departure to other countries.

Earlier yesterday, Hamas handed three hostages over to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip as part of its ceasefire deal with Israel. Since the ceasefire started on 19th January, Hamas has released 18 hostages so far, including Israeli citizens and foreign nationals. In exchange, Israel has freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.