The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced Sunday that it had lost contact with two Israeli captives, Omri Miran and Metan Ingriest, amid intense Israeli occupation military operations in Gaza City’s al-Sabra and Tel al-Hawa neighborhoods.

The Brigades warned that the captives’ lives were at risk and demanded that the Israeli occupation forces withdraw south of Street 8 and suspend air raids for 24 hours to secure them.

The announcement came as Israeli occupation troops pressed ahead with their ground incursion and heavy bombardment, part of their declared plan to seize control of Gaza’s largest city.