Thirty Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails — women and minors — were released overnight Thursday into Friday under the terms of a cease-fire agreement with Hamas, Israeli authorities announced.

They were released hours before the scheduled end of the truce and after Hamas earlier released eight hostages it was holding in the Gaza Strip, adding to two French-Israeli hostages released the day before Wednesday.

Qatari diplomacy, which plays the role of the main mediator between the parties, with the support of Egypt and the US, had earlier announced that 23 minors and seven women would be released.

After it came into effect on November 24, the agreement between Israel and Hamas allowed the release of 110 hostages, including 80 women, children and youths under the age of 19, Israelis or dual nationals.

In exchange, 240 Palestinians, women, children and minors were released.

In addition, some thirty foreigners, mostly Thais working in Israel, were released by Hamas outside the framework of the agreement.

The women and children who were released were held in detention centers in Israeli territory, the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, the Israeli prisons service said in a statement.