Nearly a hundred Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived Thursday afternoon in two buses to the West Bank town of Ramallah, where their families, medical teams and hundreds of people are waiting to welcome them with Palestinian flags and the Palestinian nationalist movement Fatah.

Buses transported about 66 Palestinian detainees from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank to Ramallah and 15 others to a detention center in East Jerusalem, from where they were released. A total of 29 prisoners convicted of involvement in attacks against Israelis are to be deported to Egypt and other countries, said the official.

Hamas freed three Israelis and five Thai nationals in exchange for more than 100 Palestinians. But the militant group struggled to control crowds, prompting a delay.