Freed hostages raise hopes of more to come

“The world is watching closely as events in the region unfold, and any Israeli military strategy that ignores the human costs could ultimately backfire,” he said in a statement.

“It could further harden Palestinian attitudes for generations, erode global support for Israel ... and undermine long-term efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region.”

Hamas released 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz and 79-year-old Nurit Cooper overnight on Monday, citing “humanitarian and health reasons” after they were snatched from their kibbutz in southern Israel. Their husbands are among more than 200 people who remain hostage in Gaza.

Both women are in good health and their release also follows that of an Israel-US mother and daughter earlier this week. Negotiations, led by Qatar and the US, for the release of up to 50 more hostages are continuing, although media reports say talks have now stumbled. The Israelis have reportedly baulked at a Hamas demand to include fuel in the humanitarian aid now trickling across the Egypt-Gaza border.

Israeli officials have said they want all hostages released before the delivery of fuel, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The negotiations came as US President Joe Biden urged Mr Netanyahu during a phone call for a continuous flow of urgent humanitarian aid to Gaza. He also mistakenly called for a ceasefire as he misspoke during a press conference.

Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been running out of food, water and medicine since Israel sealed off the territory following the attack. A third small aid convoy entered Gaza on Monday carrying only a tiny fraction of the cargo aid groups say is necessary.

As Israel continued to talk of a likely ground invasion into Gaza, diplomatic efforts continued to avoid sparking a wider regional conflagration.

The US has told Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and other groups not to join the fight. Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire almost daily across the Israel-Lebanon border, and Israeli warplanes have struck targets in Syria, Lebanon and the occupied West Bank in recent days.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said there has been an uptick in rocket and drone attacks by Iranian-backed militias on US troops in Iraq and Syria, and the US was “deeply concerned about the possibility for any significant escalation” in the coming days.

He said US officials were having “active conversations” with Israeli counterparts about the potential ramifications of escalated military action.

Hamas released a video showing the handover of the two elderly hostages, with militants giving drinks and snacks to the dazed but composed women, and holding their hands as they are walked to Red Cross officials. Just before the video ends, Ms Lifshitz reaches back to shake one militant’s hand.

Fearing they were losing public support, Israel released videos of what it said were the interrogations of captured Hamas terrorists describing their orders to kidnap elderly women and children and giving other graphic details of their “mission”, including rewards of $US10,000 and an apartment for kidnapping someone.

“We took a 15-year-old girl; took a selfie with her,” said one.

“Her body was lying on the floor; I shot her. The commander yelled at me, said I was wasting bullets on a corpse,” said another.

Israel also released what it said was an abduction manual found on some of the captives. According to the supplied translation, there are eight pages of instructions.

“Bind the wrists or ankles and blindfold; separate and isolate [women and babies/ men],” one part reads.

“Kill the problematic and those who pose a threat; collect as much food and drinks as possible.

“Do not use your own supplies to feed the hostages, except in emergency situations.”

Foreign journalist were also shown a film of spliced-together body cam footage taken from dead and captured Hamas terrorists providing graphic detail of the slaughter, including shooting little children at point-blank range.

As a prelude to the threatened invasion, Israel sent tanks and troops into Gaza to carry out intelligence-gathering raids, while its air force bombed Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon.

“During the night there were raids by tank and infantry forces,” Israel’s chief military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, told a briefing. One Israeli soldier died during the operation.

He said the incursions went “deep” into Gaza and were intended to “kill squads of terrorists who are preparing for the next stage in the war”.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the broader ground offensive could take “a month, two or three”.

Hamas said it had destroyed some Israeli kit, such as bulldozers and a tank, during one of the IDF’s infantry raids, and had repelled that particular incursion. Hamas also said it had launched two attack drones and an unspecified number of missiles at Israeli military posts, which were shot down.

The Israeli Defence Forces said that during the incursions its troops had exchanged fire with Palestinian fighters.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Co-ordinator for Humanitarian Affairs said about 1.4 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million people were now internally displaced. Many had fled Gaza City in the north, after warnings from the IDF, but Israel is now also bombing the south.

In Washington, Mr Kirby said the US will be deploying more military forces to the Middle East. “The president has added additional military forces to the region and more forces will be coming in days and weeks ahead, to try to deter any actor from widening or deepening this conflict,” Mr Kirby told reporters.

The US has already deployed two carrier strike groups to the region, and over the weekend shot down missiles and drones from Yemen suspected to be headed towards Israel.

With Reuters, Bloomberg