Alarm sounded over displacement in Gaza

GAZA/JERUSALEM — A United Nations agency put the number of the internally displaced in Gaza at an estimated 1.4 million, as the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, released two elderly Israeli women held hostage in Gaza on Monday.

Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said on Monday in a statement that it has freed two more hostages for "humanitarian reasons" through "Egyptian-Qatari mediation".

It is the second time that Hamas has released some of the hostages it took on Oct 7 after releasing two US hostages on Friday.

An Israeli government official confirmed the release of the two Israelis, who arrived at the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

Earlier on Monday, Palestinian sources said Hamas plans to release some foreign hostages captured in Gaza following "intense mediation efforts made by Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations".

In a briefing to reporters, Israel Defense Force spokesman Daniel Hagari said the military "has been actively involved in operational and intelligence efforts to secure the release of all the hostages". He neither confirmed nor denied reports on Hamas' hostage-release plan.

As the airstrikes intensified, the Israeli army prepared for a potential ground offensive, deploying tens of thousands of troops and conducting training exercises.

The IDF also carried out limited ground raids in Gaza. "During the night, there were raids by tank and infantry forces," Hagari told reporters during a daily briefing on Monday, saying the raids were carried out "deep" in Gaza.

Fighting also continued along Israel's northern border with Lebanon.

The conflict could deal a "serious" blow to global economic development, Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank, told an investor conference in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Geopolitical tensions heightened by the Middle East conflict pose the biggest threat to the world economy, Banga said.

"What just happened recently in Israel and Gaza — at the end of the day you put all this together, I think the impact on economic development is even more serious," Banga said, adding: "I think we're at a very dangerous juncture."

Risks warned

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, meeting with the families of French citizens who were killed or held hostage before heading for talks with top Israeli officials.

In a joint news conference with Macron, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would make every effort to fight the conflict quickly, but it could be a "long" one.

The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Macron would also meet the Palestinian leader in Ramallah, West Bank.

Macron's visit came after European Union foreign ministers on Monday struggled to agree on a call for a "humanitarian pause" in the conflict to allow much more aid to reach civilians.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 20 trucks crossed the Rafah border point into Gaza on Monday. Half of the trucks were carrying UN supplies — water, food and medicine.

Planes from Algeria, Kuwait, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and the World Health Organization carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip arrived at Egypt's Al-Arish Airport, which is less than 50 kilometers from the Rafah crossing.

The number of people internally displaced in Gaza is estimated at 1.4 million, with nearly 580,000 people being housed in 150 shelters designated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Humanitarians warn about overcrowding, as the average number of people per shelter has reached more than 2.5 times its capacity, Xinhua reported.

The Hamas-run health ministry said at least 5,791 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict and over 1,400 people in Israel have died, The Associated Press reported.

Agencies - Xinhua