Two Israeli ladies are let free by Hamas as the US urges a ground war postponement to allow for hostage negotiations

 Two Israeli ladies are let free by Hamas as the US urges a ground war postponement to allow for hostage negotiations

On Monday, as the United States voiced growing fear that the intensifying Israel-Hamas confrontation may trigger a larger battle in the area, including assaults on American forces, Hamas freed two elderly Israeli ladies who had been held prisoner in Gaza.

As Israel intensified bombings, demolishing residential structures in what it claims was a prelude to a future ground invasion, the death toll in Gaza was growing quickly.

Israel was instructed by the United States to postpone a planned ground attack so that negotiations to free additional prisoners might take place.

Under Israel's two-week siege, Gaza's 2.3 million residents have been running short of food, water, and medication. A third tiny relief convoy from Egypt has already reached Gaza. The UN warned that its ability to distribute supplies would come to an immediate end if it could no longer fuel its vehicles since Israel continues to prohibit the entrance of gasoline.

Gaza hospitals struggle to keep generators running so that they can power incubators for preterm newborns and life-saving medical equipment.

The International Committee of the Red Cross verified the liberation of the two captives, Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, and Nurit Cooper, 79.

On October 7, during Hamas' attack on southern Israeli communities, the two ladies and their husbands were abducted from their homes in the kibbutz of Nir Oz close to the Gaza border. The wives' husbands were kept in custody.

Hamas said in a statement that it had freed them for humanitarian reasons. Approximately 220 persons are said to have been captured by Hamas and other militants in Gaza, including an unknown number of foreigners and dual nationalities. Last week, Hamas freed an American mother and her adolescent daughter.

Israel is likely to begin a ground invasion in Gaza, promising to crush Hamas after its horrific October 7 attack on towns in southern Israel. Fears are growing that the conflict may go beyond Gaza and Israel as Iranian-backed rebels in the area issue warnings about a potential uptick in violence that might attack US personnel stationed in the region.

The US has warned Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is sponsored by Iran, and other organizations not to take part in the conflict.

In recent days, Israeli airplanes have attacked sites in the occupied West Bank, Syria, and Lebanon. Israel and Hezbollah have often exchanged gunfire.

According to John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, Iranian-backed militias have increased their rocket and drone assaults on US soldiers in Iraq and Syria, and the US is "deeply concerned about the possibility of any significant escalation" of attacks in the coming days.

He said that Israeli and US officials were in "active conversations" about the possible effects of further military action.

According to a US source, the US informed Israeli leaders that postponing a ground attack would allow Washington more time to coordinate with regional mediators on obtaining the release of further hostages captured by Hamas.

Yoav Gallant, Israel's defense minister, advised soldiers close to Gaza to continue preparing for an invasion "because it will come." He mentioned a combined air, land, and sea attack but did not provide a timetable.

Tanks and soldiers have gathered near the Gaza border, and Israel claims to have intensified airstrikes to lessen the danger to soldiers in the next phases. A ground invasion is likely to significantly raise the number of deaths in what is already the worst of five battles Israel and Hamas have waged since the Islamist group took control of Gaza in 2007.

More than 1,400 people have died in Israel, the majority of them were civilians murdered in the original Hamas strike. The military said Monday that at least 222 individuals, including foreigners, had been apprehended and taken back to Gaza.

The Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said on Monday that more than 5,000 Palestinians had been murdered, including over 2,000 children and about 1,100 women. This includes the disputed death toll from a hospital explosion last week.

The number of fatalities has drastically increased recently, with the ministry confirming 436 more deaths in the last day alone.

In the last 24 hours, Israel claimed to have hit 320 terrorist targets in Gaza. The military asserts that it does not target civilians and that since the start of the conflict, Palestinian insurgents have launched over 7,000 rockets toward Israel.

The Israeli military released video purportedly depicting assaults on Hamas infrastructure, including explosions and toppling or collapsing multi-story structures.

Israel made sporadic ground incursions into Gaza. On Sunday, Hamas claimed to have destroyed two armored bulldozers and an Israeli tank inside Gaza. An anti-tank missile fired during a raid inside Gaza, according to the Israeli military, claimed the lives of one soldier and injured three others.

According to the military, the operation was a component of attempts to free captives. Hamas wants to exchange the inmates for Palestinians held as prisoners by Israel.

The sole entry point into Gaza that is not under Israeli control is via the Rafah border with Egypt, where 20 trucks bringing food, water, medication, and medical supplies arrived on Monday, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The third delivery in as many days, all of around the same size, was this one.

According to Thomas White, the Gaza head of UNRWA, the UN organization for Palestinian refugees, the relief that has arrived thus far is "a drop in the ocean" in comparison to the needs of the people. According to the UN, hundreds of trucks are required each day and that 20 trucks would only account for 4% of the normal day's imports prior to the conflict.

According to White, the agency's truck fuel supply was only good for three days. In order to get the supplies to hospitals and UN schools in the southern part of Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are seeking refuge, running out of food, and mostly using polluted water, they are reloaded into UNRWA and Red Crescent vehicles.

A residential structure in Rafah was struck by an airstrike on Monday, around 200 meters from the UN offices, which highlighted the dangers of humanitarian work by killing and injuring multiple people.

The Abou Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah has recorded 61 fatalities since Monday morning after a day of intensive strikes, according to a hospital spokeswoman. According to hospital spokeswoman Talaat Barghout, more over half of the remains were lying on the hospital grounds since the morgue was full.

According to the UN, at least 1.4 million Palestinians in Gaza have evacuated their homes, and close to 580,000 of them are taking refuge in UN-run shelters and schools.

In Gaza City and other northern regions, where thousands of Palestinians still reside, no help would be sent out. The U.N. said that the major al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which typically serves 700 patients, is presently overflowing with 5,000 patients and that 45,000 displaced Palestinians have collected on its grounds for refuge.

According to Mahmoud Shalabi, an assistance worker with the Medical assistance for Palestinians relief organization situated in the northern town of Beit Lahia, "the north didn't receive anything" from incoming help. "For the people in Gaza's north, it's akin to the death penalty."