Israel is launching a new offensive in Gaza, says that the remains of 2 hostages have returned – National
Gaza City is now a dangerous combat zone, says Israel, adding that it is in the “initial stages” of a planned offensive that attracted international conviction.
The Israeli army said it had suspended noon breaks at the fighting, which had allowed food supplies and help to participate from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the largest city in Gaza.
He also said that he had recovered the body from a hostage and the remains of another, and that his military offensive would return more.
The change comes from weeks after Israel announced for the first time its intention to expand its offensive to Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people house and lasted famine.
The father of the hostages calls for the recovery operation a “soft-maker moment”
The recovery of Israel of more hostages on Friday felt a “stab in the stomach” for Rubi Chen, who thinks that his son is still in captivity in Gaza.
Israel said he had returned the body of a captive and the remains of another Gaza on Friday. He identified one as Ilan Weiss, a man killed during the initial attack in Hamas.
“It is a soft-to-make moment that the Weiss family is brought together with their beloved, even if it comes back not as they would have liked,” said Chen. “But at least they have a closure … There are still 49 families waiting to have this closure.”
Chen said that his family had received information that his son had not survived the attack on October 7, but Hamas had no information on the place where his son is.
Netanyahu details the hostage recovery operation
The Israeli Prime Minister said that the body of a dead Israeli and that the remains of another had been recovered following an operation in the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces and the internal security service of the Shin Bet country.
Get daily national news
Get the best news of the day, the titles of political, economic and current affairs, delivered in your reception box once a day.
Netanyahu said on Friday that a set of remains belongs to Ilan Weiss who was killed on October 7, 2023 while he defended Kibbutz Be’eri against the armed men of Hamas.
The remains of the Israeli latter are now examined for positive identification at the Institute of Legal Medicine.
Weiss Shiri’s wife and his daughter Noga, also kidnapped in the attack on Hamas, was released from captivity in November 2023.
He has two other girls.
The Israeli and missing families forum has said that the return of all hostages remains the “highest national priority” and urged the Israeli government to undertake negotiations “and stay at the table until each last hostage returns home”.
The Israeli army says that the attack on the city of Gaza will intensify
A spokesman for Israeli soldiers said that the country’s forces began their attack on Gaza City, which operates “with great strength” on the outskirts of the city.
Avichay Adraee, the Arab spokesman for Israeli Defense Forces, posted on X on Friday that the military operation is in its initial phase, but that the Israeli army “will intensify our strikes” and “will not hesitate” until all the Israeli hosts have returned and Hamas is dismantled “militarily and politically”.
Adraee said that Israel “does not wait” and that this advances with its attack on Hamas which has “transformed a military organization into a defeated organization putting guerrilla warfare.
The UN humanitarian agency said it was “deeply concerned” by the army declaration that it would intensify its operation in Gaza City.
He predicted that the offensive would have a “horrible impact on people already exhausted, poorly fed, bereaved, moved and deprived of the basics necessary for survival.”
He said that UN and NGO teams would remain on the ground in Gaza City to provide vital support, but argued that his work should be facilitated.
Israel says the hostage bodies have recovered
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the body of Ilan Weiss by Kibbutz Be’eri and that the remains of another anonymous hostage have been returned to Israel.
“The campaign to return the hostages continues continuously. We will not rest or not be silent before bringing all our hostages home – both the living and the dead,” said Netanyahu.
On Friday, Israel said that his soldiers had recovered the bodies of two hostages, including an Israeli man who had been killed on October 7, 2023, who sparked the war.
Of the 251 hostages taken by activists led by Hamas almost 22 months ago, around 50 remain in Gaza, including 20 that Israel believes alive.
The Israeli army begins the offensive of the city of Gaza
Israel said the largest city in Gaza is a dangerous combat area and said it was in the “first stages” of a planned offensive that attracted international conviction.
The suspension comes from weeks after Israel announced for the first time its intention to expand its offensive to Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people house and lasted famine.
440 people are now hiding in the Catholic church of Gaza alone, says the spokesman
A spokesperson for the only Catholic Church in Gaza said that 440 people who were housed there were unanimously agreed to stay, despite the fact that Israel was preparing to set up a new military offensive in Palestinian territory.
Farid Jubran told the Associated Press on Friday that their decision to stay in the Catholic Church Holary Family in Gaza City had been made on their own free will and “was not imposed on the people”.
He said five members of the clergy also stayed in the church to help shelters that include women, children and the elderly.
But Jubran, who is currently outside Gaza, said it was “up to par” if they want to leave the church at some point later.
The spokesman said there was no additional measure that had been taken inside the church to strengthen people’s safety.
He said, “When we feel a danger, people get closer to the walls or something else, it’s more protected” but the Church “has no specific defenses”.
& Copy 2025 the Canadian press
