Two American officials said on Thursday that the United States is carrying out reconnaissance drone flights in the skies of Gaza in search of hostages taken by Hamas during its attack on Israel on October 7.

The two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the United States was operating intelligence-gathering drones over Gaza to assist in efforts to locate the hostages. One of the officials said that drone flights have been carried out for more than a week. US officials say ten missing Americans may be among more than 200 people detained in Gaza and believed to be in Hamas' sprawling tunnel network.

On Thursday, Israeli forces surrounded Gaza City, the main city in the Strip, as part of their attack on Hamas, which launches hit-and-run attacks from tunnels. Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1,400 people, according to Israeli officials.

Gaza health authorities say that the Israeli response to the enclave, which has a population of 2.3 million, has killed at least 9,061 people.