Hamas militants freed two more hostages, both elderly women, from the Gaza Strip on Monday, a sign that efforts focused on securing the freedom of more than 200 people captured in a deadly attack on Israel on October 7 may be bearing fruit .
The hostages were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross and were on their way home, the ICRC said in a statement. According to the Associated Press, the women were captured along with their husbands, who were not released.
According to the Jerusalem Post and The Times of Israel, the elderly women are Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz, who lived on the Nir Oz kibbutz, which was captured by Hamas on October 7. Their release came three days after Hamas militants freed an American mother and her daughter on Friday under a deal brokered by Qatar and Egypt.
The hostages were among more than 200 people captured in a Hamas raid in Israel on October 7 that left 1,400 dead. The release has raised hopes for the families of the remaining hostages, who have pressed Israel to focus on their plight rather than launching a ground invasion of Gaza, which is expected to happen any day and disrupt further negotiations. Can do.
The fate of the hostages has complicated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans for a ground invasion of Gaza, which seemed imminent in the days after the attack. US and European officials have urged Netanyahu to wait on that operation and focus on the hostages.
Meanwhile, Israel has stepped up punishing airstrikes, which have killed nearly 5,000 Palestinians and driven hundreds of thousands of people in the Gaza Strip to flee southward in search of safety.
Hamas has indicated that it would be willing to free civilians – especially women and children – but would likely release troops only through a trade for captured Hamas fighters. President Joe Biden has also been urged by the progressive wing of his party to seek a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. On Monday, he pushed back on that idea.
“We must get those hostages released and then we can talk,” Biden said.
On Friday, Hamas released two American citizens, Judith and Natalie Raanan, who were taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, the site of one of the bloodiest massacres in the Hamas offensive.