Israel drops leaflets in Gaza seeking its hostages: ‘Do you want to return home’

Israeli planes dropped leaflets on the southern area of Rafah urging Palestinians seeking refuge in the region to help locate hostages held by Hamas, residents said as Tel Aviv pounded targets across the Gaza Strip.

As Hamas battled tanks trying to push back into the Jabalia area in northern Gaza, Israel started pulling out troops and shifting to smaller-scale operations, it was reported. The Israeli military said that aircraft struck militant squads trying to plant explosives near troops. It also said that in Khan Younis, it raided a military compound and neutralized ready-to-use rocket launchers.

Israeli strikes killed 165 people and wounded 280 others in the past 24 hours, one of the biggest death tolls in a single day in 2024, Gaza’s health ministry said as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to press on with the war until Hamas is defeated.

Israel’s leaflets in Rafah

In Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are taking shelter, Israel dropped leaflets showing photos of 33 hostages. Residents told Reuters that their names was written in Arabic urging the displaced to make contact.

“Do you want to return home? Please make the call if you recognise one of them,” the leaflets read.

More than 100 of the hostages held by Hamas were freed during a short November truce while Israel says that 132 remain in Gaza, 27 of whom have been killed in captivity.