Dozens of Fijian U.N. peacekeepers, released by al Qaida-linked group Nusra Front in Syria, arrived in Israeli-held territory on the Golan Heights on Thursday, an Israeli military spokeswoman said.

"We opened the border and they entered," the Israeli military spokeswoman said, without giving numbers.

A Reuters witness said after the peacekeepers crossed over they were driven away in a convoy of U.N. minibuses.