Hamas released two American hostages Friday, a mother and her teenage daughter, who had been held in Gaza since Hamas’ cross-border attack two weeks ago.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is “not giving up on the effort to return all abducted and missing people. … At the same time, we’ll continue to fight until victory.”
Israel said Friday it plans to evacuate Kiryat Shmona residents to state-funded guest houses. The city is near Israel’s border with Lebanon where there have been repeated rocket and missile attacks.
The death toll from the hospital strike in Gaza is now reported to be on the lower end of 100-300 people.
More than 1,400 Israelis, 4,100 Palestinians have been killed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would “fight until victory” in Gaza, signaling there would be no pause in Israel’s bombing of the area or an expected invasion there despite Hamas’ release of two U.S. hostages.
“Two of our abductees are at home. We are not giving up on the effort to return all abducted and missing people,” Netanyahu said in a statement released Friday night.
“At the same time, we’ll continue to fight until victory,” he said.
His remarks came hours after two Americans, a mother and daughter from the Chicago area who also hold Israel citizenship, were released by Hamas. They were the first of what Israel says is more than 200 hostages held by the militant group in Gaza to be freed.
Reporters asked U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday as he was walking up the stairs to board Air Force One whether Israel should delay an invasion of Gaza until more hostages can be freed. Biden replied, “Yes,” but the White House said shortly afterward that Biden did not fully hear the question.
White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt said Biden was far away when the question was asked.
“The question sounded like ‘Would you like to see more hostages released?’ He wasn’t commenting on anything else,” LaBolt said.
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