Israel frees Gaza medic detained since troops killed 15 rescue workers

The Palestinian Red Crescent aid group said one of its medics, Asaad al-Nsasrah, was released by Israel on Tuesday alongside nine other detainees from Gaza.

Prisoners released by Israel have said they were ordered by Israel not to speak to the media and fear for their safety.

The medic had been detained since Israeli forces killed several of his colleagues on March 23 — eight medics with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, six members of the Hamas government’s Civil Defense rescue group, and a United Nations staffer. Israeli troops bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. U.N. and rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later.

Nsasrah is one of 10 detainees released back to the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

Among the Palestinians released Tuesday is Mohammad al-Sharif who was taken from Rafah. He said it felt like he had been given a "new date of birth" because he can finally see his family again.

"While I was in captivity, I thought that I would not find any of my family members and relatives" if he returned to Gaza, he said.

The 10 Palestinians released by Israel arrived at Aqsa Hospital in a Red Cross vehicle on Tuesday, where they were examined by doctors. Some of them said they had been held for around five or six months.