More than 100 of the hostages seized by Hamas were freed during a short-lived November truce. Israel says 132 remain in Gaza, 27 of whom have been killed in captivity.
Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas in Gaza after its fighters burst into Israel on Oct 7., and rampaged through Israeli towns and bases killing 1,200 people, most of them civilians, dragging 253 hostages back to the enclave.
In more than 100 days of war, Israel's air, land and sea offensive has laid much of Gaza to waste, displacing most of the 2.3 million population, many forced to move repeatedly and seek refuge in tents that do little to protect them from the elements and disease, according to the United Nations.
