A manhunt has been launched in Israel after six Palestinian prisoners managed to dig their way out of one of the country's most secure prisons. The fugitives are understood to have tunneled through the floor of their cell at Gilboa prison, in the north of Israel, on the border with the West Bank. The men then crawled through a gap in the prison's foundations and then dug under the prison's out walls.

       The escapees then made it across a nearby field where farmers spotted them and alerted authorities.

       Israel Prison Service officials have described the incident as "a major security and intelligence failure".