WASHINGTON, Nov 2 (Portal) – The United States has flown surveillance drones over Gaza to search for hostages captured by Hamas when the Palestinian militant group attacked Israel on Oct. 7, two U.S. officials said on Thursday.
The two U.S. officials said on condition of anonymity that the U.S. would fly reconnaissance drones over Gaza to help search for hostages. One of the officials said they had been conducting the drone flights for over a week.
U.S. officials said 10 missing Americans may be among more than 200 people taken hostage to Gaza, where they are believed to be held in Hamas’s extensive tunnel network.
Israeli forces surrounded Gaza City – the capital of the Gaza Strip – on Thursday in their attack on Hamas, which fought back with hit-and-run attacks from underground tunnels.
The northern Gaza city has become a target for Israel, which has vowed to destroy the Islamist group’s command structure and urged civilians to flee south.
Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, on the deadliest day in the country’s 75-year history, according to Israeli officials.
At least 9,061 people have died in Israel’s retaliatory attacks and ground offensive on the small Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million people, according to Gaza health authorities.
Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Edited by Michael Perry
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