Hamas on Monday said it had freed two Israeli women who were among the more than 200 hostages taken during its October 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.
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.
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.
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.
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