TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel has recovered the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack that ignited the war in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli strikes overnight and into Thursday meanwhile killed at least 22 people, including three local journalists who were in the courtyard of a hospital, according to health officials in the territory. The military said it targeted a militant in that strike.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the remains of Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai were recovered and returned to Israel in a special operation by the army and the Shin Bet internal security agency.
“Together with all the citizens of Israel, my wife and I extend our heartfelt condolences to the dear families. Our hearts ache for the most terrible loss. May their memory be blessed,” he said in a statement.
Kibbutz Nir Oz announced the deaths of Weinstein, 70, and Haggai, 72, both of whom had Israeli and U.S. citizenship, in December 2023. Weinstein was also a Canadian citizen.
The military said they were killed in the Oct. 7 attack and taken into Gaza by the Mujahideen Brigades, the small armed group that it said had also abducted and killed Shiri Bibas and her two small children. The army said it recovered the remains of Weinstein and Haggai overnight into Thursday from Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis.
A teacher who helped children and a chef who played jazz
The couple were taking an early morning walk near their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on the morning of Oct. 7 when Hamas militants stormed across the border and rampaged through several army bases and farming communities.
In the early hours of the morning, Weinstein was able to call emergency services and let them know that both she and her husband had been shot and send a message to her family.
Weinstein was born in New York and taught English to children with special needs at Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small community near the Gaza border. The kibbutz said she also taught meditation techniques to children and teenagers who suffered from anxiety as a result of rocket fire from Gaza. Haggai was a retired chef and jazz musician.
“My beautiful parents have been freed. We have certainty,” their daughter, Iris Haggai Liniado, wrote in a Facebook post. She thanked the Israeli military, the FBI and the Israeli and U.S. governments and called for the release of all the remaining hostages.
The couple were survived by two sons, two daughters and seven grandchildren, the kibbutz said.
Struggles continue to get aid to Palestinians
U.N. efforts to distribute aid suffered a blow Thursday when the Palestinian organization that provides trucks and drivers said it was suspending operations after gunmen attacked a convoy, killing a driver.
The Special Transport Association said the convoy of some 60 trucks was heading into Deir al-Balah in central Gaza Wednesday evening when gunmen attacked, killing one driver and wounding three others. The association said it was the latest in attacks on convoys “clearly aimed at obstructing” aid delivery, though it did not say who it believed was behind the attack.
Israel has accused Hamas of stealing aid and trying to block it from reaching Palestinians. Aid workers have said attacks on U.N. trucks appear to be by criminal gangs, some operating within sight of Israeli troops. The area where the association described the attack taking place lies on the edges of an Israeli military zone.
After blocking all food and aid from entering Gaza for more than two months, Israel began allowing a trickle of supplies to enter for the U.N. several weeks ago. But the U.N says it has been unable to distribute much of the aid because of Israeli military restrictions on movements and because roads that the military designates for its trucks to use are unsafe and vulnerable to looters. The blockade pushed Gaza’s population of more than 2 million to the brink of famine.
Meanwhile, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a mainly American private contractor, resumed food distribution at two centers near the southern city of Gaza on Thursday. It had halted all distribution the day before, saying it was discussing greater safety measures with the Israeli military.
Near daily shootings have erupted in the vicinity of the hubs, with Palestinians reporting Israeli troops opening fire. More than 80 people have been killed and hundreds wounded, according to Gaza hospital officials. The Israeli military has said it fired warning shots or at individuals approaching its troops in some instances.
GHF said Thursday it has distributed the equivalent of nearly 8.5 million meals since its centers began operating on May 26 — enough for one meal a day for just over a third of Gaza’s population.
Strikes around Gaza kill 22
Two Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on Thursday afternoon killed 9 people, including a child and a woman, according to health officials. Most were killed when the strike hit a busy street where people were gathered to buy bags of flour, said one witness, Abu Farah.
“We want to bring food to our children. We’re not asking for anything more. We stopped demanding anything else other than food,” he said.
At least 10 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis overnight, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. It was not immediately clear if the strikes were related to the recovery mission.
In Gaza City, three local reporters were killed and six people were wounded in a strike on the courtyard of the al-Ahli Hospital, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It did not immediately identify the journalists or say which outlets they worked for.
The Israeli military said it struck an Islamic Jihad militant operating in the courtyard. The army says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it is embedded in populated areas.
Over 180 journalists and media workers have been killed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the vast majority of them in Gaza, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Israel has said many of those killed in its strikes were militants posing as reporters.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages. They are still holding 56 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages from Gaza and recovered dozens of bodies.
Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians.
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Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel and Shurafa from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writer Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed.
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