Gaza’s Hamas on Monday freed two more women abducted from Israel during the October 7 attacks, with their elderly husbands still being held among more than 200 hostages.
The Palestinian militant group said the two elderly women, identified as Yocheved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper, had been freed for “compelling humanitarian” reasons following mediation by Qatar and Egypt.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the two women’s identities, saying they were Israeli citizens aged 85 and 79, respectively, and residents of the Nir Oz kibbutz.
Here are the latest updates
- At least 5,087 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, while more than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel since October 7.
- Rescue operation under way as latest Israeli strikes kill several people, including women and children, in northern Gaza’s al-Shati refugee camp as well as southern Khan Younis; at least 436 Palestinians reported killed in the last 24 hours.
- The Pentagon has sent military advisers, including a general versed in urban warfare, to Israel to aid in its planning for the war in Gaza, a US official tells the Associated Press news agency.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says Palestinian groups in Gaza are acting without any direction from Tehran after the US accuses Iran of ‘facilitating’ attacks.
- In the last few hours, Israeli air strikes were reported in northern Gaza’s al-Shati refugee camp and al-Balad in Jabalia, al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza as well as two areas in the south, Rafah and Khan Younis
