Four of six escaped Palestinian prisoners recaptured by Israeli police

Israeli police recaptured four of the six escaped Palestinian prisoners who took advantage of underground passageways to slip away from a prison in Northern Israel.

The first two were arrested on Friday evening in Nazareth, about 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the Gilboa prison where the breakout happened, while two other escapees were picked up in the early hours of Saturday in the village of Umm Al-Ghanam, about 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the prison, reported CNN.

Photos and video circulating on social media Friday evening show the first two men -- Mahmoud Al-Ardda and Yacoub Al-Qadri -- sitting separately in police vehicles as officers secure them following their arrest.

A police statement on Saturday said Zakaria Zubeidi and Mohammed Al-Ardda were found in a truck parking lot after an operation involving soldiers, police and intelligence officers, reported CNN.

The six prison inmates escaped on Monday by using underground passageways built to carry the prison's drainage system.

Five of the men are members of the terrorist Islamic Jihad group. Mohammed Al-Ardda and Mahmoud Al-Ardda are brothers. Zubeidi is a former commander of the armed wing of the largest Palestinian faction, Fatah.

The escape has prompted enhanced security measures at Israeli prisons, including the movement of prisoners to other facilities, according to a spokesperson for the Israel Prison Service, who said Palestinian prisoners have rioted and set fire to their cells in protest, reported CNN.

In a development almost certainly intended as a response to the men's recapture, a rocket was fired from Gaza into Israel late Friday evening.

The launch was intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome aerial defense system, the military said, and there were no reports of any damage.

In a retaliatory strike, the Israeli military said it had attacked a Hamas machine gun post, storage site, and military compound in Gaza, reported CNN.

( With inputs from ANI )