US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he did not make a demand to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay the ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, but suggested that they should take any opportunity to secure the release of hostages first.
JERUSALEM/GAZA (Reuters) -Israel's military said on Monday its ground forces had mounted limited raids into the Gaza Strip overnight and said their air strikes were focusing on sites where Palestinian militants were assembling to attack any wider Israeli invasion. Palestinian group Hamas said on Sunday its fighters had engaged what it described as an armoured force infiltrating a southern area of Gaza and had destroyed some Israeli military equipment. In a televised briefing describing Israel's latest moves on the ground, Israel's chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari also said 222 people had now been confirmed as taken hostage during the Oct. 7 cross-border onslaught by Hamas.