Israel announced this Monday, February 12, that it had released two hostages in Rafah. Rafah is the final target of its offensive in the Gaza Strip, where the ruling Hamas reported 52 Palestinians killed during this nighttime operation.
Israel affirmed that the strikes on the night of Sunday to Monday were not part of the launch of this offensive, but of an operation to recover two hostages kidnapped on October 7 during the unprecedented attack by Hamas fighters in southern Israel. Israel is now targeting a ground operation in this city adjoining Egypt, in the far south of Gaza Strip.