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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President Joe Biden was asked by a reporter Monday if the U.S. is supporting a deal for hostages in exchange for a cease-fire.
Biden replied, "We should get -- we should have a cease-fire -- not a cease-fire -- we should have those hostages released, and then we can talk."
-ABC News' Ben Gittleson
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby was asked by ABC News whether there are competing goals between Israel and America, with Israel repeatedly saying its top priority is destroying Hamas and the U.S. saying its highest priority is the hostages.
At first, Kirby said America's top priority "is to make sure Israel has the tools and the capacity and the capabilities to go after Hamas terrorists, and to make sure humanitarian assistance flows in, and to make sure we can get innocent civilians who want to leave Gaza out."
When pressed on the discrepancy with Israel’s stated top goal, Kirby said, "We agree the top priority has got to be going after Hamas."
Kirby repeatedly declined to say if there's an effort from the U.S. and other countries to urge Israel to delay the ground invasion. Kirby said he would not speak for the Israeli Defense Forces or other countries, but that the U.S. has been communicating with Israel from the start about their intentions and goals.
-ABC News' Selina Wang
United Nations experts said they're urging the lawyers advising Israeli forces "to refuse legal authorisation for acts that may amount to war crimes."
The lawyers' "advice about issues such as lawful targets of attack, the choice and use of weapons, and the means and methods of warfare is essential to the operational planning of military campaigns," the U.N. experts said in a statement Monday.
"Under international law, Israel has a right to self-defence, but its response must be proportionate and in full respect of the UN Charter and the rules that apply to the use of force in armed conflict," the experts said.
"If such lawyers approve actions that amount to massive human rights violations and war crimes, they may bear accomplice liability for those acts," the experts warned.
Twenty aid trucks crossed from Egypt to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Monday, according to the United Nations.
The Rafah border crossing was shut on Oct. 10 after it was hit by Israeli warplanes on the Palestinian side three times on Oct. 9 and 10.
After nearly two weeks of humanitarian conditions worsening by the day, the crossing briefly opened on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22, permitting a small amount of aid to enter Gaza. The U.N. said 34 trucks entered this weekend.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, called this only "a drop in the bucket."
"The number of trucks that usually went into Gaza every day was about 450 or so, and now we're seeing 20 or 30, and we're not seeing any fuel, which is a great concern," Dujarric said. "For the 14th consecutive day, Gaza remains under a full electricity blackout. The situation in hospital remains dire given the shortage of electricity, medicine, equipment and specialized personnel."
US citizen trapped in Gaza speaks out on his experience
