Body of Israeli hostage recovered in Gaza, IDF says

The body of Israeli hostage Ilan Weiss has been recovered in an operation in the Gaza Strip, Israel’s military has announced.

Weiss, 56, was killed during Hamas’s attack in southern Israel on 7 October 2023.

The remains of a second hostage, whose identity has not been released yet, were also recovered, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says.

Israel launched a massive offensive in Gaza following the attack in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken back to the territory as hostages.

After the latest announcement, 48 hostages remain in Gaza – 20 of whom Israel believes are still alive.

Ilan Weiss was killed while defending Kibbutz Beeri on the day of the attack. His body was taken to Gaza.

Weiss’s wife, Shiri, and daughter, Noga, were taken hostage by Hamas on the same day. They were released during a temporary ceasefire in November 2023.

“Ilan showed courage and noble spirit when he fought the terrorists on that dark day,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said, before praising Weiss’s family’s “extraordinary strength in their struggle for his return”.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been facing strong domestic pressure to agree a deal that would enable the return of all hostages still in captivity.

Huge protests have been held demanding an end to the war, as Israel pushes ahead with its plan to take over Gaza City and eventually establish control over the entire Strip. Netanyahu argues the defeat of Hamas will secure the release of the hostages.

The country’s military says it has begun the “initial stages” of its advance into Gaza City.

The IDF said a scheduled pause in military action which had been due to come into effect at 10:00 (07:00 GMT) would not apply to Gaza City. It said this was in “accordance with the situational assessment and directives of the political echelon”.

In recent days, Israel has carried out air strikes on Gaza City and advised residents to make their way towards makeshift housing in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Since 14 August, the day the offensive was announced, about 20,000 people have been displaced to the south from Gaza City in addition to about 40,000 moving further north, according the UN’s humanitarian affairs office.

Western countries – and the UN – have warned that an operation in an area of Gaza where more than a million people live would have devastating consequences.

Most of Gaza’s population has been repeatedly displaced.

More than 90% of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed and the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed.

Last week, a UN-backed body, which monitors hunger levels around the world, raised its food insecurity status in parts of Gaza to the highest and most severe – confirming famine for the first time. Israel denies there is starvation in the territory.

At least 62,966 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s military campaign in Gaza since the war began, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.