Hamas releases 2 more Israeli hostages, Red Cross confirms - CBC.ca

Hamas released two Israeli women held hostage in Gaza on Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed.

The release of the two hostages, 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz and 79-year-old Nurit Cooper, was confirmed by the ICRC after Hamas released a statement earlier about the release. 

The two women, along with their husbands, were taken from their homes in the kibbutz of Nir Oz near the Gaza border in Hamas's Oct. 7 rampage through towns of southern Israel. Their husbands were not released.

In a statement, Hamas said it had released them for humanitarian reasons.

Abu Ubaida, a Hamas spokesperson, said Monday on Telegram the militant group had secured the release of the detainees "despite the enemy's refusal to accept them since last Friday and their neglect of the issue of our prisoners."

Israeli hostages Yocheved Lifshitz, left, and Nurit Cooper were released by the militant group Hamas on Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed. (Reuters)

"We decided to release them for humanitarian and poor health grounds.... Despite that, the enemy refused to receive them last Friday," the post added.

Israel has demanded the unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas. Hamas and other militants in Gaza are believed to have taken roughly 220 people, including an unconfirmed number of foreigners and dual nationals.

Hamas released two other hostages — an American mother and her teenage daughter — on Friday.

Israel is widely expected to launch a ground offensive in Gaza, vowing to destroy Hamas, which controls the region that Israel has been bombarding since Oct. 7 and has blockaded since 2005. The U.S. advised Israeli officials that delaying a ground offensive would give Washington more time to work with regional mediators on securing the release of more hostages taken by Hamas, according to a U.S. official.

WATCH | Israeli urged to prioritize hostages ahead of expected offensive: 

Israel urged to prioritize hostage safety as it prepares ground offensive

20 hours ago

Duration 3:34

Featured VideoIsrael now says 212 people were taken hostage by Hamas when it went on the attack. Many of their loved ones are pleading for their safe return — and for any ground offensive launched in Gaza to keep their safety top of mind.

Israeli officials said more than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed — mostly civilians slain during the initial Hamas attack earlier this month. At least 222 people were captured and taken back to Gaza, including foreigners, Israel's military said Monday, updating a previous figure.

More than 5,000 Palestinians, including some 2,000 minors and around 1,100 women, have been killed since Israel's response to the Oct. 7 attack, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Monday. That includes the disputed toll from an explosion at a hospital last week. The death toll has climbed rapidly in recent days, with the ministry reporting 436 additional deaths in just the last 24 hours.

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Hamas releases 2 more Israeli hostages, Red Cross confirms - CBC.ca
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