Israel said it won’t delay a possible ground invasion of Gaza over the hostages (File)
New Delhi:
Hamas freed two more Israeli hostages, both women, on Monday, the group said. Over 5,000 people have been killed in Israel strikes on Gaza, Hamas said, since its Sabbath attack.
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The two women were freed for “compelling humanitarian” reasons following mediation by Qatar and Egypt, the Hamas’ military wing said.
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They were taken to the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, days after two American women, Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan, were freed.
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According to several media reports, Hamas might release another 50 hostages. Red Cross representatives are allegedly on their way to Gaza to take out the hostages with dual nationalities, they claimed.
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Tel Aviv on Monday increased the number of hostages it has confirmed to 222 people. Israel’s army said it was preparing for “unrelenting attacks” to dismantle Hamas even as former US President Barack Obama warned that “any Israeli military strategy that ignores human costs could ultimately backfire”.
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Israel won’t delay a possible ground invasion of Gaza over the hostages, Energy Minister Israel Katz told German tabloid newspaper Bild, adding that everything would be done to bring the hostages home. “But that cannot hinder our actions including the ground offensive, if we decide on it,” he was quoted as saying.
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Hamas has killed 1,400 people in the worst-ever attack in the nation’s 75-year history, Israel said.
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Gaza’s health ministry said the death count in the Strip has surged to over 5,000 with the Israel military saying on Monday that it had conducted over 300 new strikes in 24 hours. The death count includes over 2,000 children, the ministry said.
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The European Union is considering a call for a humanitarian pause to the Israel-Hamas war, with the US warning that a Gaza ceasefire would benefit Hamas, reported news agency AFP.
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A ceasefire would “give Hamas the ability to rest, to refit, and to get ready to continue launching terrorist attacks against Israel”, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
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President Joe Biden said that any discussions about a Gaza ceasefire could only take place if Hamas frees all hostages seized from Israel in its October 7 attack. “We should have those hostages released and then we can talk,” Biden said at a White House event when asked if he would support a “hostages-for-ceasefire” deal, AFP reported.