Hamas's military wing said Sunday it had lost contact with two Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip, calling on Israel to withdraw its troops and suspend airstrikes for 24 hours to allow fighters to recover them.
The fate of these captives, which resonates strongly in Israel, comes on the eve of a planned meeting at the White House between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump . This situation could weigh heavily on discussions surrounding a possible ceasefire.
For several days, the Israeli army has been conducting a massive ground offensive on Gaza City, destroying entire neighborhoods and ordering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee to tent camps. Netanyahu presents this operation as an attempt to definitively wipe out Hamas in what he considers its last stronghold.
The raids intensified this weekend, particularly in the neighborhoods of Sabra, Tel Al-Hawa, Sheikh Radwan, and Al-Naser, where Israeli tanks and soldiers are advancing. Local health authorities say they are no longer able to respond to emergency calls due to the extent of the destruction and lack of resources.
Despite the ongoing fighting, the possibility of a diplomatic solution is increasingly being discussed. On Friday, Donald Trump said a Gaza deal seemed possible, as the international community ramps up pressure to end the nearly two-year-old conflict.
Hamas, for its part, has stated that it has not received a new peace proposal. Netanyahu insists that the Islamist movement lay down its arms, a demand that Hamas categorically rejects until the Palestinians achieve an independent state.
In a statement, the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, called on Israel to withdraw from certain neighborhoods in Gaza and to suspend its military flights over the area for 24 hours from 15:00 GMT, in an attempt to locate the two hostages, whom they say they have lost track of.
What should we quickly remember?
Hamas's military wing said Sunday it had lost contact with two Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip, calling on Israel to withdraw its troops and suspend airstrikes for 24 hours to allow fighters to recover them.
