Two elderly Israeli women were released by Hamas after being held as hostages for over two weeks.

The International Committee of the Red Cross announced on Monday that two hostages were released by Hamas after being kept captive in the Gaza Strip since the terrorist group's surprise attack on Oct. 7. Israeli media identified the two as Nurit Cooper, 79, and Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, who were seized from the kibbutz of Nir Oz. The release comes amid heavy United States pressure for Israel to delay its planned ground offensive to allow more time to negotiate the release of more hostages.

BIDEN VACATIONS WHILE PRESSURE TO FREE HOSTAGES MOUNTS

The two were released via the Rafah crossing through Egypt, and Egyptian TV showed them being loaded into ambulances. Their husbands, who were abducted alongside them, were not released. Hamas said that it released Cooper and Lifshitz for humanitarian reasons.

The two are among just a handful of the estimated 222 hostages taken by Hamas. The group claimed that some have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

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Israel has intensified its airstrikes ahead of the planned ground invasion, and Israel is saying it has attacked 320 terrorist targets throughout Gaza. Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry reported 436 more deaths over the same period. So far, they claim Israeli airstrikes have killed over 5,000 — mostly civilians, including over 2,000 children.