GAZA CITY, Palestine / ISTANBUL 

The Israeli army released 12 Palestinian detainees, including two women, from the Gaza Strip on Thursday, witnesses said.

The freed prisoners were transferred by vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah for medical attention, they added.

The Prisoners’ Media Office confirmed the release of the 12 detainees, without providing details about their health condition.

More than 9,500 Palestinians are imprisoned in Israeli jails, with numerous reports of torture, starvation, and medical neglect leading to the deaths of detainees.

There are no exact figures about the number of Gazans held by Israel, but estimates suggest that their numbers are in the thousands.

The Israeli army resumed its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip on March 18 and has since killed nearly 2,000 people and injured over 5,200 others, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants 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.