The Israeli military said today it had freed two hostages during a raid by special forces in Gaza’s southern Rafah neighbourhood.

The hostages were taken to Sheba hospital in central Israel, a statement from the hospital said, and were confirmed by doctors to be in “good condition”.

Earlier Israeli strikes on Gaza’s southern city of Rafah killed more than 52 people and wounded dozens, according to local health officials earlier today, after US President Joe Biden told Israel not to attack Rafah without a credible plan to protect civilians.

Heavy bombing caused panic in Rafah as many people were asleep when the strikes started, said residents contacted by Reuters using a chat app. Some feared Israel had begun its ground offensive into Rafah. Israeli planes, tanks and ships took part in the strikes, with two mosques and several houses hit, according to residents.

The Israeli military said it had conducted a “series of strikes” on southern Gaza that have now “concluded,” without providing further details.

US President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a call on Sunday that Israel should not launch a military operation in Rafah without a credible plan to ensure the safety of the roughly 1 million people sheltering there, the White House said.

Mr Biden and Mr Netanyahu spoke for about 45 minutes, days after the US leader said Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip had been “over the top” and expressed grave concern over the rising civilian death toll in the Palestinian enclave.

Mr Netanyahu’s office has said that it had ordered the military to develop a plan to evacuate Rafah and destroy four Hamas battalions it says are deployed there.

Mr Netanyahu said in an interview aired on Sunday that “enough” of the 132 remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza were alive to justify Israel’s war in the region.

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