The escape from the very secure Gilboa prison is described as a very rare incident.
Israeli media report that the men escaped through a tunnel, which ended just outside the prison walls.
According to The Jerusalem Post used the prisoners a month and a rusty spoon to dig the escape tunnel.
According to BBC video footage shows a hole under a sink inside a cell.
Among those who have fled are Zakariye Zubeidi, a former militant leader in the West Bank city of Jenin, as well as three members of the Islamic Jihad group. The latter three served life sentences for attacks on Israelis with fatalities. Zubeidi was one of the leaders of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade during the Second Intifada 20 years ago.
Israeli media write that it is likely that the prisoners received help to escape from outside.
Police have set up roadblocks and are patrolling the area. The six are probably on their way to Jenin, where the Palestinian Authority has no control and militant Palestinians have recently been in combat with Israeli forces.
Groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad praised the escape.
“This is a heroic act, which caused a great deal of shock in the Israeli security system,” said Daoud Shehab, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad.
(©NTB)
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