The bodies of six people were recovered from Gaza
Bridge between Israel and Hamas: How do the Israelis feel about an upcoming cease-fire agreement in the Gaza crisis? Palestinians in Doha are angry with Israel
Israeli forces recover the bodies of six hostages in Gaza. The families of the hostages say all were kidnapped alive in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7 — they died while they were being held.
An Israeli airstrike on Tuesday killed at least 10 people at a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City, in what the military said was a precise strike on a Hamas command center. A mother and her children were killed in central Gaza.
The remains of eight people have been identified, according to the military. During the November cease-fire, family members of several people had been kidnapped but freed.
Munder’s death was confirmed on Tuesday by Kibbutz Nir Oz, the farming community where he was among around 80 residents who were taken captive. It said he died “after enduring months of physical and mental torture.” The other five were ruled dead by Israeli authorities.
The Israeli Defense Minister said the operation had been carried out inside the Hamas tunnel network. There were no immediate reports of any casualties among Israelis or Palestinians in the recovery operation.
LONSDORF: So Blinken is here trying to push forward a proposal presented by mediators at the end of last week in Doha meant to bridge the final gaps between Israel and Hamas. Both Israel and Hamas seemed unenthusiastic about that bridging proposal in the days after it was announced last week. According to the reporters, Netanyahu had already agreed to it and now it was up to Hamas. But we’ve seen this before. It doesn’t mean that we’re hearing from Israel when America says that they have an agreement with Israel. The statement that Netanyahu’s office put out last night didn’t mention agreeing to the proposal, so I don’t know. Hamas stated in a statement that they want to end the war, and put out a cease-fire proposal. But this new proposal caters to Netanyahu’s demands too much in their opinion on several key sticking points, and they blame him for obstructing the deal.
Hamas accused the United States of embracing Israeli demands in order to impose them on the group. There are still wide gaps between the two sides, which include Israel’s demand for control over two strategic corridors in Gaza, which Hamas doesn’t like.
The Health Ministry in Gaza says that over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s offensive. Most of the 2.3 million residents in Gaza have been forced to flee their homes multiple times due to air and ground operations. Aid groups fear the outbreak of diseases like polio.
The Israeli military said the strike targeted Hamas militants who had set up a command center inside the school and were planning and launching attacks.
The latest news about hostage recovery in the Gazan conflict, and what it means for Israel and the Palestinians in the coming peace talks with Hamas
The mediators have been trying to finalize a proposal for a three-phase process in which Hamas would release all the hostages in return for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, an Israeli withdrawal from the territory and a lasting truce.
The Secretary of State traveled to Egypt and was scheduled to hold talks in the Persian Gulf state. The two Arab countries have played a key role in mediating with Hamas.
CHANG: I am wondering in terms of public opinion how this latest news about the recovered bodies of these hostages – how that is impacting the way people in Israel are feeling about a possible cease-fire deal.
ONSDORF: He met leaders in both places. Egypt and Qatar are the two other countries that mediated this agreement along with the U.S. Egypt is expected to host the renewed cease-fire talks later this week. I’ll tell you, Ailsa, that all of this diplomacy has increased the importance because of threats from Iran and its proxies to retaliate against Israel for assassinating an Iranian dissident. As long as the cease-fire in Gaza is sustainable, Iran will hold its fire. And of course, meanwhile, the war is still very much going on in Gaza. More than 150 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since the new round of talks began last week. That’s adding to the more than 40,000 total who have been killed in Gaza according to health officials there. There is pressure to get something to work from a lot of angles.
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