Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), said on Friday in a statement that it has released two American hostages for "humanitarian reasons," in response to Qatari mediation efforts.

The brigades said it made the move to prove that U.S. allegations were "false and baseless." The hostages are the first to be released by the Gaza-ruling group since the conflict began almost two weeks ago.

"Two of our abductees are at home. We are not giving up on the effort to return all abducted and missing people," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement released late Friday night, which also signaled there would be no pause in his military's bombardment and expected invasion of Gaza. "At the same time, we'll continue to fight until victory," he added.

Israeli media outlet Channel 2 reported earlier that the two released hostages are a mother and daughter who are U.S. citizens. It is unclear whether they are also Israeli citizens.

In a press release, U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed the release of two American hostages and thanked Qatar and Israel for their assistance in securing the pair's release.

A team from the U.S. Embassy in Israel will shortly see the two Americans who were freed, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Blinken said there are still 10 Americans who remain unaccounted for. "We know that some of them are being held hostage by Hamas," he said at a press briefing.

He called for the "immediate and unconditional release" of all hostages.

Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, firing thousands of rockets and infiltrating Israeli territory, where it killed at least 1,400 people, including civilians, and seized hostages. The brigades previously stated they were holding 200 to 250 captives in Gaza. An Israeli army statement earlier in the day said a majority of the hostages were alive.

At least 4,137 Palestinians have been killed, including hundreds of children, and 13,000 wounded amid Israel's aerial bombardment in Gaza, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. The United Nations said more than a million have been made homeless.

(With input from Xinhua, Reuters)

(Cover: An Israeli soldier walks past a burnt house on October 17, 2023 in Kibbutz Beeri near the border with Gaza, in the aftermath of an attack by Palestinian militants on October 7. /CFP)