The hostages are two elderly women who are both Israeli nationals.
Thousands of people have died and thousands more were injured after the militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel retaliated with a bombing campaign and total siege of the neighboring Gaza Strip, leaving the region on the verge of all-out war.
At least 1,400 people have died and 4,629 others have been injured in Israel, according to Israeli authorities. In Gaza, 5,087 people have died and 15,273 have been wounded, according to the Palestinian Health Authority.
Aid workers and officials fear that Israel's call for an evacuation of the northern part of Gaza is precipitating a humanitarian disaster as electricity and other supplies have been cut off in preparation for what appears to be an imminent ground offensive.
Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to call off the evacuation and agree to a cease-fire, even as the country has asserted a right to defend itself -- a right the United States endorses.
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Thirty-two Americans have been confirmed dead in Israel and another 11 U.S. citizens are unaccounted for, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Thursday.
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops on Thursday to "get organized" and "be ready" to enter Gaza.
"The order will come," Gallant said, according to The Associated Press. "Whoever sees Gaza from afar now, will see it from the inside. I promise you."
Former foreign minister of Israel Tzipi Livni on Israel's response to Hamas attack
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
Gaza hospitals are operating at 150% capacity, with some patients lying on the ground or in corridors, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
Fourteen health centers were forced to stop operations, and all health facilities are at risk of shutting down due to power outages and fuel, the ministry said.
War is one of the world’s worst public health crises
The Israeli military has a "green light" to move into Gaza whenever it's ready, a member of the country’s security cabinet told ABC News.
Israeli military has 'green light' to move into Gaza, official says
Hostages and civilian casualties will be secondary to destroying Hamas, Economy Minister Nir Barakat told ABC News, "even if it takes a year."
Asked about the miles of tunnels Hamas has built under Gaza, he said they’d become the "world’s biggest cemetery." Hamas has claimed to be holding some or all of the 203 Israeli hostages it’s taken within that vast network.
"We shall do all efforts to bring our hostages, to bring our hostages [back] alive…" he said, but the "first and last priority" is destroying Hamas.
Warfare expert calls Hamas tunnels ‘a major threat to civilians on both sides’
Hamas and Islamic Jihad together have about 50,000 fighters, said Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, former head of Shin Bet, the Israel Security Agency.
-ABC News’ Matt Gutman
