GAZA CITY, Palestine

Sixty-six Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli custody arrived Thursday in central Ramallah as part of the third batch of a prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel that was included in a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.

Two buses operated by the Red Cross transported the prisoners from Israel’s Ofer military prison near Ramallah to a reception site in the city center, according to an Anadolu correspondent.​​​​​​​

Ahead of the release, the Israeli army raided the town of Beitunia, deploying military vehicles and bulldozers. Soldiers fired live and rubber bullets, as well as tear gas, at Palestinians awaiting their arrival.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported 14 injuries, including three people wounded by live ammunition.

Many of the freed detainees appeared in poor health, a result of what Palestinian organizations have reported as systematic mistreatment, torture and starvation inside Israeli prisons.

The latest exchange involved 110 Palestinian prisoners, including 32 prisoners serving life sentences, 30 minors and 48 with varying sentences.

In exchange, Palestinian factions in Gaza earlier released three Israeli captives: Agam Berger, Arbel Yehud and Gadi Mozes.

The second exchange took place on Saturday, involving four Israeli women soldiers from Gaza, while Israel freed a Jordanian national and 199 Palestinians from its prisons.

The first exchange occurred Jan. 19, the first day of the ceasefire agreement, when three Israeli civilian women were released in exchange for 90 Palestinian detainees, including women and children, all from the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem.

The first phase of the agreement, which is divided into three stages lasting 42 days each, calls for the gradual release of 33 Israelis -- living prisoners and the bodies of the deceased -- in exchange for between 1,700 and 2,000 Palestinian and Arab detainees.

The Israeli onslaught on Gaza has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year 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.