Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the bodies of two hostages have been recovered from Gaza by the military and the domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet.
One body was identified as belonging to Yair Yaakov, Netanyahu said, but the identity of the other has not been cleared for publication.
The Israeli military said militants from the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad abducted and killed Yaakov during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.
Militants also took Yaakov’s partner, Meirav Tal, and two of his children, Or and Yagil, hostage but later released them, the military said. Yaakov was 59 at the time of his death.
It said it notified the family of the second hostage whose body it recovered. Thy were found in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
There are 53 hostages still being held in Gaza, with fewer than half believed to be alive.
Israeli forces have recovered five hostages’ bodies so far this month.
Airstrikes, gunfire leave 60 dead, officials say
In Gaza on Wednesday, Israeli gunfire and airstrikes killed at least 60 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them near an aid site operated by the U.S- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the centre of the enclave, local health officials said.
Medical officials at Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals said at least 25 people were killed and dozens wounded as they approached a food distribution centre near the former Jewish settlement of Netzarim before dawn.
Israel’s military, which has been at war with Hamas militants since October 2023, said its forces fired warning shots overnight toward a group of suspects as they posed a threat to troops in the area of the Netzarim Corridor.
“This is despite warnings that the area is an active combat zone. The IDF is aware of reports regarding individuals injured; the details are under review,” it said.
Later Wednesday, health officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip said at least 14 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire as they approached another GHF site in Rafah.
The foundation said it was unaware of Wednesday’s incidents but added that it was working closely with Israeli authorities to ensure safe passage routes are maintained, and that it was essential for Palestinians to closely follow instructions.
“Ultimately, the solution is more aid, which will create more certainty and less urgency among the population,” it said by email in response to Reuters questions.
“There is not yet enough food to feed everyone in need in Gaza. Our current focus is to feed as many people as is safely possible within the constraints of a highly volatile environment.”
In a statement, GHF said it distributed 2.5 million meals on Wednesday, the largest single-day delivery since it began operations, bringing to more than 16 million the number of meals provided since its operations started in late May.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says that since then, 163 Palestinians had been killed and over 1,000 wounded trying to obtain the food boxes.
The United Nations has condemned the killings and has refused to supply aid via the foundation, which uses private contractors with Israeli military backup in what they say is a breach of humanitarian standards.
Elsewhere in Gaza on Wednesday, its health ministry said at least 11 other people were killed by separate Israeli gunfire and strikes across the coastal enclave.
The war erupted 20 months ago after Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages and killed some 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli authorities say, in what was the country’s single deadliest day.
Israel’s military campaign has since killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the densely populated strip, which is home to more than two million people. Most of the population is displaced and malnutrition is widespread.
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