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 13 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. Israel said the remains of Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai were recovered in a special operation by the army and the Shin Bet internal security agency. The military says they were killed in the Oct. 7 attack. Hamas-led militants are still holding 56 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive.
Palestinians have chanted against Hamas during anti-war protests in the Gaza Strip. It's a rare show of public anger against the militant group that has long repressed dissent. Hamas is weakened but still rules the territory 17 months into the war with Israel. Protesters say they chanted against Israel, Hamas, the Western-backed Palestinian Authority and Arab mediators. Hamas has violently cracked down on previous protests. The protests came days after Israel's renewed offensive shattered a ceasefire. It also has tightened its blockade on all supplies into Gaza.
Mourners are burying the remains of one of the last hostages released in the first phase of the ceasefire between Hamas militants and Israel. Negotiators are seeking to iron out a second phase of the deal that could end the war in Gaza and see the remaining live hostages returning home. The body of Tsachi Idan was one of four released by Hamas this week in exchange for over 600 Palestinian prisoners, the last planned swap of the ceasefire's first phase, which began in January. The relatives of hostages still held in Gaza are ramping up pressure on Netanyahu to secure the release of their loved ones. According to Israel, 32 of the 59 hostages still in Gaza are dead.
Hamas was set to hand over the bodies of four hostages late Wednesday in exchange for Israel's release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, days before the first phase of their ceasefire will end. Israel has delayed the release of over 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday to protest what it called the cruel treatment of hostages during their handover by Hamas. The militant group has called the delay a "serious violation" of the ceasefire and said talks on a second phase aren't possible until the Palestinians are freed. The handover would complete both sides' obligations under the ceasefire's first phase.
Hamas has handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages, said to include a mother and her two children who have long been feared dead and had come to symbolize the nation's agony following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The militant group said it released the remains of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted. Kfir was the youngest captive taken that day. Hamas has said all four were killed in Israeli airstrikes. The militants displayed four black coffins on a stage in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, surrounded by banners, before handing them over to the Red Cross.
News that three high-profile hostages are expected to be released has brought excitement and trepidation to Israel on Friday. The men include Yarden Bibas, who is the father of the youngest captives held in Gaza. He, Keith Siegel and Ofer Kalderon have all become household names in Israel since their abduction. The men's release would be the fourth since a ceasefire paused the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas this month. In its first phase, 33 Israeli captives are expected to be freed in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
