JERUSALEM / RAMALLAH - About 50 Palestinian prisoners arrested during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine were released on Monday, including the director of Gaza's largest hospital, Israeli sources confirmed.

An Israeli security official, speaking anonymously to Xinhua, stated that the prisoners were released from various Israeli facilities, including the military detention camp of Sde Teiman in the south, where many Palestinians arrested during the ongoing conflict were held.

The official noted that the release was part of an effort to reduce the number of detainees in Sde Teiman, which is running out of space.

Mohammed Abu Selmia, head of the Al Shifa Hospital, was among those released on Monday. He was detained by Israeli forces in November 2023 while traveling south from Gaza City following an Israeli military raid on the hospital

Mohammed Abu Selmia, head of the Al Shifa Hospital, was among those released on Monday. He was detained by Israeli forces in November 2023 while traveling south from Gaza City following an Israeli military raid on the hospital.

In video footage widely circulated on social networks, Abu Selmia is seen near a Red Crescent vehicle and being warmly welcomed upon his arrival in Gaza.

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"The prisoners are enduring very difficult conditions, including a lack of food and water and physical humiliation," he said in the video.

Abu Selmia also called for the release of all Palestinian prisoners due to the harsh detention conditions, stating that several Palestinian medical staff members died during detention due to torture and denial of basic medical care.

Israel conducted raids on the Al Shifa hospital twice, in November 2023 and April, claiming that the hospital had served as the headquarters of Hamas. The raids drew widespread criticism from the international community.

Abu Selmia's release has sparked an uproar in Israel. Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right leader in charge of prisons, castigated the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, for approving the release and called for the dismissal of the Shin Bet chief.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid also criticized the government over the release of Abu Selmia.

"The news this morning and the chaos in the government ... is a direct continuation of the recklessness and dysfunction of the Israeli government, which is causing damage to the security of Israel's citizens," Lapid accused.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement, saying that the prisoners' release followed an ongoing Supreme Court hearing in which human rights groups are challenging the harsh incarceration conditions.

20 rockets

Also on Monday, the Israel Defense Forces stated that about 20 rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip toward southern Israel, in a rare salvo from the war-ravaged enclave.

The rockets set off sirens in Kibbutz Kissufim and Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha, communities near the Gaza Strip.

The IDF issued a statement, saying "around 20 projectiles were identified crossing from the area of Khan Younis" in Gaza. Several of them were intercepted, but some struck areas in southern Israel, and no injuries were reported.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an armed group with its headquarters in Gaza, claimed responsibility for the attack

The IDF artillery is currently attacking the sources of the fire, it added.

In a statement, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an armed group with its headquarters in Gaza, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Israel started its military offensive on Gaza in response to Hamas' attack on Oct 7, 2023, during which militants infiltrated southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 others as hostages.

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The continuous Israeli ground and air assaults have claimed the lives of at least 37,900 people in Gaza, mainly civilians, according to the enclave's health authorities.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian presidency on Sunday rejected any foreign presence on Palestinian lands, in response to Israeli statements calling for the handover of the Gaza Strip to international forces.

In a declaration carried by the official news agency WAFA, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for the presidency, said that "there is no legitimacy for any foreign presence on Palestinian lands, and only the Palestinian people can decide who governs and manages their affairs."

He stressed that the Israeli government "is delusional if it thinks it can decide the fate of the Palestinian people and cement the occupation by bringing in foreign forces."

The spokesperson called the Palestine Liberation Organization the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, which "has legal authority over all of Palestine's territory, including Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem."

He emphasized that "the Palestine issue is about land and statehood, not just humanitarian aid; it is a sacred issue and the central cause for Arabs."

On Friday, Israeli public radio Kan reported that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant discussed the transitional phase plan for Gaza during his visit to the United States days ago

On Friday, Israeli public radio Kan reported that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant discussed the transitional phase plan for Gaza during his visit to the United States days ago.

The plan would be overseen by a steering committee led by the US and involving moderate Arab countries, according to the radio.

The international forces, possibly including soldiers from Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco, would oversee security in Gaza while the American side would handle leadership and logistics from outside the strip, likely in Egypt, it reported.

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The plan will be implemented in stages from north to south Gaza and aims for the gradual transfer of local security responsibilities to Palestinian forces, the report said.

It noted that the plan assumes that Hamas's military capabilities have been sufficiently reduced, rendering the group unable to conduct large-scale attacks.

Israel's National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi stated last Tuesday during a conference at the Reichman University in Herzliya that "the post-war plan for Hamas and Gaza has been prepared in recent weeks, and we will soon see practical steps towards this."

He added, "We do not have to wait for Hamas to disappear, as it is a long process," explaining, "We cannot eliminate Hamas as an idea; we need an alternative idea."

Hanegbi believes that establishing an alternative to replace Hamas is essential for achieving long-term victory, saying that the alternative should be a government supported by local residents who wish to live alongside Israel, with backing from moderate Arab countries.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had faced widespread criticism from within and outside Israel for not presenting a clear post-war plan for Gaza.