While negotiations for the release of hostages are underway, Israeli soldiers find the body of another woman. And Netanyahu speaks out about civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip. The News.
Almost six weeks after the Islamist Hamas attack on Israel, soldiers have recovered the bodies of hostages near Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip.
A dead 65-year-old woman was discovered in an annex to the hospital, brought to Israel and identified, the Israeli military said. The woman was kidnapped from the border town of Beeri on October 7th during the devastating Hamas massacre in Israel. Weapons such as submachine guns and rocket-propelled grenades were also found in the building.
In the morning, the military said another body had been recovered near the main hospital in Gaza city. The remains of the kidnapped 19-year-old soldier were found in a building next to the Shifa Clinic. Her body was identified by experts in Israel. A cause of death was not initially announced.
During their operation in the largest clinic on the coastal strip, the Israeli armed forces said they also found command and control centers. A military representative left it unclear what this actually meant. Weapons, computers and military equipment were also found there.
It remained unclear whether one of the centers discovered was also the command center of the Palestinian Islamist organization, which the army suspected to be under the hospital. Hamas denies the existence of such a base beneath the clinic.
Fighters from the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas from the Gaza Strip attacked Israel on October 7th and brutally killed around 1,200 people. At the same time, around 240 people were kidnapped as hostages. Israel then began airstrikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip at the end of October. According to Palestinian information, more than 11,500 people were killed. According to the UN, the supply situation is catastrophic. Israel is under international pressure for its conduct of the war – especially since the attack on the Shifa clinic.
Netanyahu: Failing to minimize civilian casualties
The Israeli leader acknowledged that the armed forces are not always successful in their attempt to avoid civilian casualties. The military is trying to end the military operation in the Gaza Strip with a minimum of civilian casualties, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview with the US television station CBS.
“We’re trying to do that, but unfortunately we’re not succeeding. Every death of a civilian is a tragedy. We’re trying to do everything in our power to get civilians out of harm’s way, while Hamas is doing everything it can to keep them there.”
Military: Dead in shooting in West Bank
According to the military, a soldier and three attackers were killed in an attack on an Israeli military barrier south of Jerusalem. Military spokesman Daniel Hagari confirmed previous information from the police and Israeli media, which referred to the rescue service. The armed wing of the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The attackers opened fire at the military checkpoint. According to Hagari, the attackers from Hebron in the West Bank had plans to carry out a larger attack. According to media reports, they wanted to get to Jerusalem.
Israel: Hamas tunnel discovered on Shifa Clinic site
Israeli soldiers say they uncovered a Hamas tunnel on the grounds of Shifa Hospital. A booby-trapped vehicle containing a large amount of weapons, ammunition and handcuffs was also discovered at the site, the military said.
The army suspects that it was prepared for the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7th and the hostage-taking. A tunnel was also discovered in Rantisi Hospital. Weapons and ammunition were also found in the Al-Kuds Hospital.
Israel: Delivery of water and food to Shifa Clinic
Israel’s military said it delivered more than 4,000 liters of drinking water and 1,500 food rations to Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip. The military announced this on the X platform, formerly Twitter. Photos showed a truck carrying water bottles and a pallet being unloaded by a forklift. The military’s information could not initially be independently confirmed.
Israel’s military reported early Wednesday morning that soldiers had entered the largest hospital in the city of Gaza. The operation appears to be continuing – despite international protests against the military operation in a hospital. Israel accuses the Islamist Hamas of using the clinic as a terrorist base.
According to a US media report, Israel’s head of government also sees “strong indications” that hostages were being held by Hamas in the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip. That was one of the reasons why Israeli soldiers invaded the Shifa clinic, Netanyahu told the CBS television station.
Israel takes control of western Gaza city
Israel’s army has gained control of the western part of the city of Gaza in the northern Gaza Strip, according to Defense Minister Joav Galant. “The next phase has begun,” Galant said. He left it open what this phase should look like in concrete terms.
The Israeli army also reported that it had taken “operational control” of the city’s port, which was previously controlled by Hamas. Local sources confirmed the takeover to the dpa. Israel’s army once again urged civilians in several neighborhoods of the embattled city of Gaza to flee. Hundreds of thousands have already fled from the north to the south of the coastal strip. However, there were also several Israeli air strikes there.
Military chief in Gaza: “We will continue in other areas”
Israel’s Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi has announced an expansion of operations in the Gaza Strip. “We are close to dismantling the military system in the northern Gaza Strip (…) we will continue in other areas,” said Halevi, according to the statement, during a visit to troops in the Gaza Strip. “There’s still a lot to do, but we’re well on the way.”