Hamas releases two Israeli women on health grounds

GAZA/WASHINGTON - The armed wing of the Palestinian Hamas militant group said on Monday it had released two Israeli women on health grounds as sources said the United States had advised Israel to hold off on a ground assault in the Gaza Strip.

"We decided to release them for humanitarian and poor health grounds," Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the armed wing, said on Telegram. A source said they were elderly Israelis, identified by Israeli media as Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz.

They were freed following the release of an American woman and her daughter on Friday. All four were among more than 200 people Hamas gunmen took hostage in an October 7 cross-border assault in which they killed 1,400 people.

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.

A US priority is to gain time for negotiations to free other hostages, especially after Friday's unexpected release of Americans Judith and Natalie Raanan on Friday, said the sources, who spoke before the hostage releases were announced on Monday.

Asked about the possibility of a ceasefire, US President Joe Biden said: ""We should have those hostages released and then we can talk."

Israel's Channel 12 said on Monday that the third and fourth hostages had been released and that families had been informed. Egypt's Extra News TV showed footage of two captives being transferred to ambulances at Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt.