Israel airstrike kills 10 Palestinians

GAZA, Jan 30 (Reuters/BBC/AFP): An Israeli airstrike on Wednesday killed at least 10 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, in an attack which the Israeli military said targeted armed militants.

The airstrike was in the area of Tubas, in the northern West Bank, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

Violence in the West Bank has surged since the start of the war in Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, many of them armed gunmen but also including stone-throwing youths or uninvolved civilians, and thousands have been arrested by Israeli forces.

Palestinian attacks in the West Bank and Israel have also killed dozens of Israelis.

The West Bank, a kidney-shaped stretch of land about 100 km (62 miles) long, was seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and is seen by Palestinians as the core of a future independent state, along with Gaza.

Israel has stepped up operations in the West Bank since a ceasefire in Gaza came into effect on Jan 19.

Hamas frees seven hostages for

over 100 Palestinian prisoners

Israel has delayed the release of more than 100 Palestinian prisoners, after hostages were released in chaotic scenes in Gaza. Seven hostages - two Israelis and five Thais - were released in Khan Younis earlier, as hundreds of people swarmed round the Red Cross convoy.

One of the Israeli hostages, Arbel Yehud, was seen being led through the crowds by masked gunmen - Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said they were "shocking scenes".

Hamas now says the release of the Palestinian prisoners will begin at 17:00 local time - that's 15:00 GMT. Palestinian militants began handing over three Israeli hostages in Gaza on Thursday in return for 110 Palestinian prisoners to be freed in the latest stage of a ceasefire deal.

Top Palestinian militant

freed in prisoner swap

Zakaria Zubeidi, a former leader of a Palestinian militant group jailed for attacks that killed several Israelis, was released Thursday as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Zubeidi, 49, rose to prominence during the Second Intifada, a Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s, becoming one of the most well-known militant leaders in Jenin and its refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

It was during the uprising that Zubeidi's mother was shot and killed when the Israeli army raided the camp.