World

Israel, Hamas start prisoner swap

Palestinian detainees selected to swap abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit began being transported out of Israeli prisons early Tuesday morning, a local source told Xinhua.

According to a deal reached last week between Israel and the Gaza Strip-ruling Hamas movement, Shalit, who was taken away by Palestinian militants in June 2006 and is believed to be alive, will be freed Tuesday morning.

In return, Israel will release a total of 1,027 Palestinian and Arab inmates, with the first batch of 477 people being released on Tuesday.