Time's running out

>> Aid convoy stays stuck at Egypt's border >> Tanks mass in countdown to the invasion

- CHRIS HUGHES

AS civilians in Gaza desperately waited for food, water and fuel to get through, Israeli troops and tanks were massed at the border, waiting for the order to begin a bloody ground offensive against Hamas.

In a move unlikely to stop the onslaught, Hamas last night released two American hostages, Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie, on "humanitarian grounds".

In a Telegram post, Hamas said it was in "response to Qatari efforts" and "to prove to the American people and the world that the allegations of Biden and his fascist administration are false allegations that have no basis in truth".

The group claimed to be holding up to 250 hostages, while Israel has acknowledged 203 people were kidnapped in the Hamas atrocities of two weeks ago.

Air strikes on Gaza continued yesterday as Israeli towns in the north, close to Lebanon, and south, near Gaza, were evacuated in the countdown to a ground war.

In Israel, two miles from the border with Gaza, we saw every kind of armoured attack vehicle in battle formation, pointing towards the hellscape of the Gaza Strip.

Merkava main battle tanks stood with armoured personnel carriers, bulldozers for urban warfare and water trucks.