Israel described videos released by Palestinian fighter of two hostages held in Gaza as an important sign of life, but declined to be drawn on whether they would be released, saying that would be to play into the captors’ “psychological warfare”, Reuters reports.

“This is a sign of life, and it is important,” chief Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said when asked about the elderly woman and the boy held by Islamic Jihad.

“I will, for the moment, ignore the question of their release … We will be the first to update the families before anything happens,” he said.