Hamas security frees 50 Islamist rivals in Gaza

Security forces of the Islamist Hamas movement freed on Thursday 50 detainees belonging to Palestinian Islamist radical groups, a month after 28 people were killed in internal violence in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh described the release as an attempt to "spread tolerance" in the territory on the occasion of the Muslim festival of Eid el-Fitr early next week. (Reuters)