After the release of two American hostages by Hamas on Friday, two Israeli hostages, Yocheved Lifschitz, 85, and Nurit Cooper, 79, were freed on Monday. The two had been friends and neighbors in kibbutz Nir Oz, where they were attacked by Hamas gunmen on October 7.
Lifschitz, at a special media appearance in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, explained how she had endured beatings from Hamas captors before being taken into an underground cave with 25 others. During her captivity, she was given one meal each day, consisting of pita bread, a slice of cheese, and cucumber.
She concluded her speech with a criticism of the Israeli government, pointing out that it had not taken the threat of Hamas seriously, despite prior warnings about the group’s infiltration into their territory. Lifschitz emphasized that they were scapegoats because the government had failed to address the situation adequately before the October 7 attack occurred.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday morning that over the recent 24-hour period, 704 people in Gaza had been killed, bringing the total number of Palestinian casualties to 5,791. This consisted of 2,360 children, 1,421 women, and 295 elderly people. Up to 16,297 were injured with varying severity and 1,550 were still missing, with 870 of them being children.
UNRWA, the United Nations agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, has issued a warning that its operations in the Gaza Strip may be halted “as of tomorrow night” if it doesn’t receive immediate and additional fuel supplies. However, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has said if it releases fuel to the region, it may be stolen by Hamas.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday that the Israeli military was preparing for a “multilateral operation” on “air, ground, and sea” against Hamas. The Defense Force said earlier today that it had hit more than 400 “terror targets,” on Monday. As a result, “several Hamas commanders and numerous operatives” were killed.
