Hamas frees two women as US advises delaying invasion to allow talks on captives

The two freed hostages, Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, and Nurit Cooper, 79, were taken out of Gaza at the Rafah crossing into Egypt

A wounded Palestinian woman cries as she holds the hand of her dead relative (Abed Khaled/AP)

Hamas released two elderly Israeli women held hostage in Gaza on Monday, as the United States expressed increasing concern that the escalating Israel-Hamas war will spark a wider conflict in the region, including attacks on American troops.

The death toll in Gaza rose rapidly as Israel ramped up airstrikes, flattening residential buildings in what it says was preparation for an eventual ground assault.