Israel PM says bodies of 2 hostages retrieved from Gaza
JERUSALEM : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that the bodies of two Israeli-Americans killed in Hamas's Oct 7, 2023 attack and held in Gaza had been returned to Israel.
'In a special operation by the (security agency) and the (military) in the Gaza Strip, the bodies of two of our hostages held by the murderous terrorist organisation Hamas were returned to Israel: Judy Weinstein Haggai and Gad Haggai from Kibbutz Nir Oz, may their memory be blessed,' Netanyahu said in a statement.
'Judy and Gad were murdered on October 7 and abducted to the Gaza Strip.'
A joint statement from the army and the Shin Bet security agency said that the bodies were recovered from the Khan Yunis area of the southern Gaza Strip in an overnight operation.
'The rescue operation was conducted by… troops in coordination with the intelligence directorate and special forces,' it added.
The spokesman for the kibbutz in southern Israel where the elderly couple lived said in a statement that 'after more than 600 days of pain and waiting, the bodies of Gad Haggai and Judy Weinstein Haggai were brought back home to the State of Israel and to Nir Oz last night in a military operation'.
The kibbutz said Gad Haggai was 72 at the time of the October 2023 attack and Judy Weinstein Haggai was 70.
Gad, a music lover and talented cook, and Judy, a former English teacher, have four children and seven grandchildren, according to the kibbutz.
'We welcome the closure of the circle and their return for a proper burial at home, in Israel,' the family was quoted as saying in the statement from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
'We want to thank the (military) and security forces involved in the complex rescue operation and for fighting for us for over a year and a half, and to everyone who supported, fought, prayed and struggled for us and for the entire people of Israel,' they added.
Israel has recently stepped up its offensive in Gaza in what it says is a bid to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, at least 4,335 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,607, mostly civilians.
Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas's attack, 55 remain in captivity, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Journalists document Gaza war in state of hunger, exhaustion
AFP journalists in the Gaza Strip said Tuesday that chronic food shortages are affecting their ability to cover Israel's conflict with Hamas. Palestinian text, photo and video journalists working for the international news agency said desperate hunger and lack of clean water is making them ill and exhausted. Some have even had to cut back on their coverage of the war, now in its 22nd month, with one journalist saying "we have no energy left due to hunger." The United Nations in June condemned what it claimed was Israel's "weaponisation of food" in Gaza and called it a war crime, as aid agencies urge action and warnings about malnutrition multiply. Witnesses and Gaza's civil defence agency have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of firing on aid seekers, with the UN saying the military had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food since late May. Bashar Taleb, 35, is one of four AFP photographers in Gaza who were shortlisted for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize earlier this year. He lives in the bombed-out ruins of his home in Jabalia al-Nazla, in northern Gaza. "I've had to stop working multiple times just to search for food for my family and loved ones," he said. "I feel for the first time utterly defeated emotionally. "I've tried so much, knocked on many doors to save my family from starvation, constant displacement and persistent fear but so far to no avail." Another Pulitzer nominee, Omar al-Qattaa, 35, is staying in the remains of his wife's family's home after his own apartment was destroyed. "I'm exhausted from carrying heavy cameras on my shoulders and walking long distances," he said. "We can't even reach coverage sites because we have no energy left due to hunger and lack of food." Qattaa relies on painkillers for a back complaint, but said basic medicines were not available in pharmacies, and the lack of vitamins and nutritious food have added to his difficulties. The constant headaches and dizziness he has suffered due to lack of food and water have also afflicted AFP contributor Khadr Al-Zanoun, 45, in Gaza City, who said he has even collapsed because of it. "Since the war began, I've lost about 30 kilos (66 pounds) and become skeletal compared to how I looked before the war," he said. "I used to finish news reports and stories quickly. Now I barely manage to complete one report per day due to extreme physical and mental fatigue and near-delirium." Worse, though, was the effect on his family, he said. "They're barely hanging on," he added. Eyad Baba, another photojournalist, was displaced from his home in Rafah, in the south, to a tent in Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, where the Israeli military this week began ground operations for the first time. But he could not bear life in the sprawling camp, so he instead rented an apartment at an inflated price to try to at least provide his family some comfort. Baba, 47, has worked non-stop for 14 months, away from his family and friends, documenting the bloody aftermath of bullets and bombs, and the grief that comes with it. Hardest to deal with, though, is the lack of food, he said. "I can no longer bear the hunger. Hunger has reached my children and has shaken my resolve," he added. "We've psychologically endured every kind of death during our press coverage. Fear and the sense of looming death accompany us wherever we work or live." Working as a journalist in Gaza is to work "under the barrel of a gun", he explained, but added: "The pain of hunger is sharper than the fear of bombing. "Hunger robs you of focus, of the ability to think amid the horrors of war." The director of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, warned on Tuesday that Gaza was heading towards "alarming numbers of deaths" due to lack of food, revealing that 21 children had died from malnutrition and starvation in the last three days. AFP text journalist Ahlam Afana, 30, said an exhausting "cash crisis" – from exorbitant bank charges and sky-high prices for what food is available – was adding to the issue. Cash withdrawals carry fees of up to 45 per cent, said Zanoun, with high prices for fuel – where it is available – making getting around by car impossible, even if the streets were not blocked by rubble. "Prices are outrageous," said Afana. "A kilo of flour sells for 100-150 shekels (US$30-45), beyond our ability to buy even one kilo a day. "Rice is 100 shekels, sugar is over 300 shekels, pasta is 80 shekels, a litre of oil is 85-100 shekels, tomatoes 70-100 shekels. Even seasonal fruits now – grapes, figs – cost 100 shekels per kilo. "We can't afford them. I don't even remember how they taste." Afana said she keeps working from a worn-out tent in intense heat that can reach more than 30C, but going days without food and only some water makes it a struggle. "I move slowly, unlike before," she said. "The danger isn't just the bombing. Hunger is slowly killing our bodies and threatening our ability to carry on. "Now, I'm not just reporting the news. I'm living the catastrophe and documenting it at the same time." Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on July 8 that more than 200 journalists had been killed in Gaza since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war. Video journalist Yousef Hassouna, 47, said the loss of colleagues, friends and family had tested him as a human being "in every possible way." But despite "a heavy emptiness", he said he carries on. "Every frame I capture might be the last trace of a life buried beneath the earth," he added. "In this war, life as we know it has become impossible." Zuheir Abu Atileh, 60, worked at AFP's Gaza office, and shared the experience of his journalist colleagues, calling the situation "catastrophic." "I prefer death over this life," he said. "We have no strength left; we're exhausted and collapsing. Enough is enough."
New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
More than 100 NGOs warn 'mass starvation' spreading across Gaza
JERUSALEM: More than 100 aid organisations warned on Wednesday that "mass starvation" was spreading across the Gaza Strip and that their own colleagues were suffering acutely from the shortages. Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where more than two million people have endured 21 months of devastating conflict. Even after Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade in late May, Gaza's population is still suffering extreme scarcities of food and other essentials, with residents frequently killed as they try to collect aid at a handful of distribution points. In a statement, the 111 signatories — including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Save the Children and Oxfam — warned that "our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away." "As the Israeli government's siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families," the statement read. The groups called for an immediate negotiated ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of aid through UN-led mechanisms. The UN yesterday said Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid since the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started operations in late May — effectively sidelining the existing UN-led system. Israel says humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid. In their statement, the humanitarian organisations said that warehouses with tonnes of supplies were sitting untouched just outside the territory, and even inside, as they were blocked from accessing or delivering the goods. "Palestinians are trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions," the signatories said. "It is not just physical torment, but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage," they added. "The humanitarian system cannot run on false promises. Humanitarians cannot operate on shifting timelines or wait for political commitments that fail to deliver access." UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said yesterday that the "horror" facing Palestinians in Gaza under Israeli military attack is unprecedented in recent years. More than two dozen Western countries recently urged an immediate end to the war, saying suffering in Gaza had "reached new depths." The aid organisations urged decisive action from governments, saying that "piecemeal arrangements and symbolic gestures... serve as a smokescreen for inaction." Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,106 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas's Oct 7, 2023 attack, which sparked the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The head of Gaza's largest hospital on Tuesday said 21 children had died due to malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory in the past three days. — AFP
New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
'They're starving': 21 children dead from malnutrition in Gaza, says hospital head
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: The head of Gaza's largest hospital on Tuesday said 21 children have died due to malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory in the past three days, while Israel pressed a devastating assault. Gaza's population of more than two million people is facing severe shortages of food and other essentials, with residents frequently killed as they try to collect humanitarian aid at a handful of distribution points. "Twenty-one children have died due to malnutrition and starvation in various areas across the Gaza Strip," Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, told reporters. Abu Salmiya said new cases of malnutrition and starvation were arriving at Gaza's remaining functioning hospitals "every moment" warning there could be "alarming numbers" of deaths due to starvation. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Gaza a "horror show" in a speech on Tuesday, with "a level of death and destruction without parallel in recent times". After talks to extend a six-week ceasefire broke down, Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza on March 2 this year, allowing nothing in until trucks were again permitted to enter at a trickle in late May. However, stocks accumulated during the ceasefire have gradually depleted, leaving the territory's inhabitants experiencing the worst shortages since the start of the war in October 2023. Chaotic scenes have become frequent at aid distribution areas since the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation effectively sidelined a vast UN aid delivery network in Gaza. The UN on Tuesday said Israeli forces had killed over 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid since the GHF began its operations in late May, with most near the foundation's sites. Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani posted a video online on Tuesday evening, showing what he said was "950 trucks worth of aid currently waiting in Gaza for international organisations to pick up and distribute". "This is after Israel facilitated the aid entry into Gaza," he wrote on X. Earlier Tuesday, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes had killed 15 people, after the World Health Organisation said Israel attacked its facilities amid its expanding ground operations. Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Israeli strikes on the Al-Shati camp west of Gaza City had killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 50. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced at least once during the conflict and the Al-Shati camp -- on the Mediterranean coast -- hosts thousands of people displaced from the north in tents and makeshift shelters. Raed Bakr, 30, lives with his three children and said he heard "a massive explosion" at about 1:40 am on Tuesday (2240 GMT Monday), which blew their tent away. "I felt like I was in a nightmare. Fire, dust, smoke and body parts flying through the air, dirt everywhere. The children were screaming," Bakr, whose wife was killed last year, told AFP. Reports of the latest death toll came as the Roman Catholic church's most senior cleric in the Holy Land, Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was "morally unacceptable". Pizzaballa spent three days in Gaza after an Israeli strike on the territory's only Catholic church last Thursday which killed three people. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accused Israeli troops of entering its staff residence, and forcing women and children to evacuate, as they handcuffed, stripped and interrogated male staff at gunpoint. Israeli forces meanwhile expanded ground operations in Deir el-Balah following intense shelling of the area in central Gaza on Monday. The civil defence agency's Bassal said two people were killed in Deir el-Balah. The Israeli military said later its troops "identified shots being fired toward them in the Deir al-Balah area, and responded toward the area from which the shooting originated". The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that between 50,000 and 80,000 people were living in the area, which until now had been considered relatively safe. Some 30,000 were living in displacement sites. OCHA said nearly 88 percent of the entire Gaza Strip was now either under evacuation orders or within Israeli militarised zones, forcing the population of 2.4 million into an ever-shrinking space. Despite what Guterres described as "devastation... upon devastation", Israeli far-right leaders met in Jerusalem to discuss plans for redeveloping Gaza as a tourist-friendly "riviera", with a permanent Jewish presence. A "master plan" presented at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, foresees the construction of housing for 1.2 million new Jewish residents and the development of industrial and agricultural zones, as well as tourism complexes on the coast. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,106 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas's 2023 attack, which sparked the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. - AFP
