Hamas launched two Israeli hostages — Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, and Nurit Cooper, 79 — into Israel Protection Forces custody Monday, in keeping with an announcement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s workplace. The Israeli authorities thanked the Egyptian authorities and the Worldwide Committee for the Crimson Cross, whereas The Washington Publish reported that Qatar was additionally concerned within the mediation efforts. The ladies’s husbands are nonetheless being held by Hamas, the Israeli authorities stated. Their launch comes because the Biden administration is getting ready for the potential evacuation of tons of of hundreds of Individuals residing within the Center East if the warfare escalates, in keeping with 4 officers acquainted with the U.S. authorities’s contingency planning, The Publish reported. That plan is taken into account a worst-case situation, the officers stated.