Hamas's armed wing has urged the Israeli military to temporarily halt airstrikes and withdraw from part of Gaza City as it tried to find two Israeli hostages it said it had lost contact with.
"The lives of the two prisoners are in real danger, and (Israeli) forces must immediately withdraw to the south of Street 8 and halt aerial operations for 24 hours starting from 18.00 today to allow attempts to rescue the prisoners," the al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.
In an earlier announcement, Hamas said the loss of contact was due to Israeli military operations over the previous 48 hours in two southern Gaza City neighbourhoods where Israeli forces have stepped up air and ground assaults.
The families of the two hostages identified by Hamas have requested that their names not be released by the media.
In the past, the Islamist movement announced that it had lost contact with an Israeli-American hostage, who was released a few days after that announcement.
Since launching its offensive on Gaza City, the Israeli military has repeatedly ordered Palestinians to move south.
Gaza's civil defence agency, a rescue force operating under Hamas authority, said 38 people had been killed by Israeli fire, including 14 in Gaza City over the weekend.
Speaking at the United Nations, Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to "finish the job" against Hamas, despite sharp international condemnation following the intensification of the offensive.
Israel has bombarded Gaza since Hamas's October 7 attack, in which more than 1,200 people, including an estimated 30 children, were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli tallies.
Thousands gather in the Israeli capital, Tel Aviv, to demand an end to the war in Gaza and the return of Israeli hostages. Source: Getty / Anadolu
More than 66,005 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
The October 7 attack was a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
