RAFAH, Gaza Strip. Hamas released two elderly Israeli women who had been held captive in Gaza on Monday, while the United States expressed growing concern that the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas could trigger a broader regional crisis, including threats to American troops.
The death toll in Gaza escalated as Israel escalated its airstrikes, targeting residential buildings as part of its preparations for an anticipated ground operation. The United States advised Israel to postpone the planned ground invasion to allow for negotiations concerning the release of more individuals who had been taken captive by Hamas during its recent incursion.
A third small aid convoy from Egypt entered Gaza, where the population of 2.3 million has been grappling with shortages of food, water, and medical supplies due to a two-week-long blockade imposed by Israel. With Israel still blocking the entry of fuel, the United Nations warned that its distribution of aid would come to a halt in a matter of days when it can no longer fuel its trucks. Gaza’s hospitals, overwhelmed by a continuous influx of wounded patients, are struggling to maintain power for life-saving medical equipment and incubators for premature babies.
The two freed hostages, 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz and 79-year-old Nurit Cooper, were safely transported out of Gaza through the Rafah crossing into Egypt. This was captured on Egyptian television. The two women, along with their husbands, were taken from their homes in the kibbutz of Nir Oz near the Gaza border during Hamas’ incursion on October 7. Unfortunately, their husbands have not been released.
Hamas stated that they released these individuals for humanitarian reasons, shortly after releasing an American woman and her teenage daughter. Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza are believed to have captured around 220 people, including an unconfirmed number of foreigners and dual nationals.
Israel is widely expected to launch a ground offensive in Gaza with the aim of neutralizing Hamas. Iranian-backed groups across the region are warning of potential escalation if this happens, which could involve targeting U.S. forces deployed in the Middle East.
The U.S. has advised Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and other groups not to get involved in the conflict. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire nearly daily across the Israel-Lebanon border, and Israeli warplanes have struck targets in the occupied West Bank, Syria, and Lebanon in recent days.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby noted an increase in rocket and drone attacks by Iranian-backed militias on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. is deeply concerned about the possibility of significant escalation in attacks in the coming days. Active discussions are ongoing between U.S. officials and their Israeli counterparts to address potential outcomes of escalated military actions.
Israeli tanks and ground forces have amassed at the Gaza border, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has instructed troops to continue preparations for an offensive. While a combined offensive from air, land, and sea is anticipated, a specific timeframe has not been provided.
A ground operation is likely to result in increased casualties in what is already the deadliest of the five conflicts between Israel and Hamas since the militant group took control of Gaza in 2007.
In Israel, over 1,400 people have lost their lives, primarily civilians, during the initial Hamas incursion. At least 222 individuals have been captured and taken to Gaza, including foreigners, as reported by the military on Monday.
In Gaza, more than 5,000 Palestinians have been killed, including approximately 2,000 minors and around 1,100 women, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. This figure includes the disputed toll from an explosion at a hospital last week. The death toll has been rapidly rising in recent days, with the ministry reporting an additional 436 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Israel reported striking 320 militant targets throughout Gaza in the last 24 hours. The Israeli military maintains that it does not intentionally target civilians, and it notes that Palestinian militants have fired over 7,000 rockets at Israel since the start of the conflict.
Israel has conducted limited ground operations in Gaza. On Sunday, Hamas claimed to have destroyed an Israeli tank and two armored bulldozers within Gaza. The Israeli military reported that a soldier was killed, and three others were wounded by an anti-tank missile during a raid inside Gaza.
Intensive airstrikes continued in Gaza on Monday. In the aftermath of an airstrike in Gaza City, a woman with blood on her face wept as she held the hand of a deceased relative. At least three bodies were lying in the street, with one of them in a stream of gray water. Following a series of strikes in the south, Rafah’s Abou Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital recorded 61 deaths on Monday, as confirmed by its spokesperson. The bodies of the deceased were laid out in the hospital’s courtyard, according to spokesperson Talaat Barghout.
On Monday, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 20 trucks, carrying food, water, medicine, and medical supplies, entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, the sole entry point not controlled by Israel. This marked the third delivery of similar size in as many days.
Nevertheless, the aid received thus far is just a fraction of what the population urgently requires. Thomas White, the Gaza director of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), noted that the 20 trucks represent only 4% of an average day’s imports before the conflict. Hundreds of trucks daily are needed, he stressed.
White further pointed out that the agency has only three days of fuel left for its trucks. The supplies arriving through Rafah are transferred to UNRWA and Red Crescent trucks, which then transport them to hospitals and U.N. schools in the southern part of Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people have sought refuge and are facing shortages of food and access to clean water.
According to the U.N., at least 1.4 million Palestinians in Gaza have fled their homes, with nearly 580,000 of them sheltering in U.N.-run schools and shelters. Unfortunately, no aid has been distributed in Gaza City and other parts of the north, where hundreds of thousands of people remain. Gaza City’s main al-Shifa Hospital, with a normal capacity of 700 patients, is currently overwhelmed with 5,000 patients. Approximately 45,000 displaced individuals have gathered in and around its premises in search of shelter and assistance, as reported by the U.N.
