Israel releases two Syrian prisoners in diplomatic gesture

Israel has released two Syrian prisoners in what it describes as a diplomatic goodwill gesture, following the transfer of the body of an Israeli soldier missing since the 1980s.

Sergeant first class Zechariah Baumel, a US-born tank commander, went missing in battle during the 1982 Lebanon war.

His remains were returned to Israel with help from Russia in April 2019.

A prison service spokesman told journalists that the two Syrians were due for release on Thursday and today

Both men were residents of a Druze village in the Syrian Golan heights, most of which has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East war.