From Reuters:
“Hamas frees two Israeli women, US cautions on Gaza invasion”
(Yocheved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper (also known as Nurit
Yitzhak) who were held hostages by Palestinian Hamas militants, are released by
the militants, in this video screengrab obtained by Reuters on October 23,
2023. Al-Qassam Brigades, military wing of Hamas.)
Hamas on Monday said it had freed two Israeli women who were
among the more than 200 hostages taken during its Oct. 7 rampage in southern
Israel while sources said the U.S. had advised Israel to hold off on a ground
assault in the Gaza Strip. "We decided to release them for humanitarian
and poor health grounds," Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the armed wing of the
Palestinian Hamas militant group, said on Telegram.
The Israeli prime minister's office issued a statement
confirming that the women, whom it named as Nurit Cooper, 79, and Yocheved
Lifshitz, 85, were handed over to the Israeli military and would be taken to a
medical facility. The two were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz, near the Gaza
border, along with their husbands, who were still held by Hamas, it added.
Hamas freed them after releasing an American woman and her daughter on Friday.
All four were seized in the Oct. 7 cross-border assault in
which the Islamist Hamas killed 1,400 people. In public, the United States has
stressed Israel's right to defend itself but two sources familiar with the
matter said the White House, Pentagon and State Department have stepped up
private appeals for caution in conversations with the Israelis. A U.S. priority
is to gain time for negotiations to free other hostages, especially after
Friday's unexpected release of Americans Judith and Natalie Raanan on Friday,
said the sources, who spoke before the hostage releases were announced on
Monday. Asked about the possibility of a ceasefire, U.S. President Joe Biden
said: ""We should have those hostages released and then we can
talk."
Israel pounded hundreds of targets in Gaza from the air on
Monday as its soldiers fought Hamas militants during raids into the besieged
Palestinian strip where deaths are soaring and civilians are trapped in
harrowing conditions. Gaza's health ministry said 436 people had been killed in
bombardments over the last 24 hours, most in the south of the narrow, densely
populated territory, next to which Israeli troops and tanks have massed for a
possible ground invasion. The Israeli military said it had struck more than 320
targets in Gaza over 24 hours, including a tunnel housing Hamas fighters,
dozens of command and lookout posts, and mortar and anti-tank missile launcher
positions. The Israeli bombardment was triggered by the Oct. 7 assault, the
bloodiest episode in a single day since the state of Israel was founded 75
years ago.
With Gaza's 2.3 million people running short of basics,
European leaders looked set to follow the United Nations and Arab nations in
calling for a "humanitarian pause" in hostilities so aid could reach
them. A U.S. special envoy is negotiating with Israel, Egypt and the United
Nations to create a "sustained delivery mechanism" to get aid into
Gaza after aid convoys began crossing into the strip from Egypt, the U.S. State
Department said on Monday. The U.N. said desperate Gazans also lacked places to
shelter from the unrelenting pounding that has flattened swathes of the
Hamas-ruled enclave.
The conflict meanwhile was escalating beyond Gaza. Israeli
aircraft hit positions in south Lebanon held by Hezbollah which, like Hamas, is
a group allied to Israel's long-time foe Iran. The Israeli army and
Palestinians also clashed in the occupied West Bank and Hamas fired more
rockets into Israel. At least 5,087 Palestinians have been killed in two weeks
of strikes, including 2,055 children, the health ministry said. Israel's police
and the Shin Bet intelligence agency released footage from their interrogations
of captured Hamas gunmen who took part in the Oct. 7 rampage. In the video
clips, one handcuffed Hamas man sitting beside a desk is heard describing the
orders they received regarding Israeli civilians - to kill the men and bring
the women, children and elderly as hostages. Another, with an injury on his
face, said they were told their prize for bringing captives would be a new home
and $10,000.
FIGHTING INSIDE GAZA Israel said its armed forces' incursions overnight were
partly intended to gather intelligence, with the whereabouts of the hostages
unknown, and had helped improve its military readiness. "These
raids are raids that kill squads of terrorists who are preparing for our next
stage in the war. These are raids that go deep," military spokesperson
Daniel Hagari said. Hamas's armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam
Brigades, said its fighters engaged with an Israeli force that infiltrated
southern Gaza, destroying two bulldozers and a tank and forcing the raiders to
withdraw. Israel made no comment on the incident. The Al-Qassam
Brigades also said they were firing missiles at the southern Israeli towns of
Ashkelon and Mavki'im. Warning sirens sounded on the Israeli side.
The Israeli military, the Middle East's most powerful, faces
a group that has built up a large arsenal with Iran's help, fighting in a
crowded urban setting and using a vast tunnel network. The U.N. humanitarian
office (OCHA) said about 1.4 million of Gaza's population - more than half -
were now internally displaced, with many seeking refuge in overcrowded U.N.
emergency shelters. Israel has ordered Gaza residents to evacuate the north.
But many who had fled appeared to be returning north due to increased
bombardments in the south and lack of shelter. "They told us to evacuate
your place and go to Khan Younis because it is safe... They betrayed us and
bombed us," said 18-year-old Dima Al-Lamdani who lost her parents, seven
siblings and four members of her uncle's family in an air strike after the
family moved south.
SPREADING VIOLENCE Early on Monday, Israeli warplanes also struck two Hezbollah
cells in Lebanon that were planning to launch missiles and rockets towards
Israel, the Israeli military said. Israel also hit a Hezbollah compound and an
observation post. In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, two Palestinians
were killed at the Jalazone refugee camp near Ramallah, the Palestinian
Authority health ministry said. Residents told Reuters that Israeli forces
raided the camp and made many arrests as they clashed with gunmen and some
youths who threw stones. The Israeli military said 15 suspects were captured,
10 of them Hamas operatives. A third convoy of 20 aid trucks entered Gaza from
Egypt on Monday. The U.N. said aid arriving so far was just 4% of the daily
average before the hostilities.
^ While it is good to see 2 more Hostages released that still
leaves over 200 Hostages being held. ^
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.