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Israel Launches Airstrike in S. Gaza 12/04 06:00
Israel said it launched an airstrike on a Hamas militant in southern Gaza
late Wednesday in retaliation for an attack earlier in the day that wounded
five Israeli soldiers.
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel said it launched an airstrike on a Hamas militant
in southern Gaza late Wednesday in retaliation for an attack earlier in the day
that wounded five Israeli soldiers.
The strike was the latest test for a fragile ceasefire that has mostly held
up since early October, despite claims of violations by both Israel and Hamas.
Hamas put out a statement condemning the Israeli strike in Khan Younis.
Earlier Wednesday, Israel received remains of what could be one of the last
hostages in Gaza and said it would begin allowing Palestinians to leave the
territory through a border crossing with Egypt.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas violated the ceasefire
Wednesday when, according to the army, militants emerged from a tunnel and
attacked Israeli soldiers in an area under their control.
Israel has accused Hamas of ceasefire violations before launching previous
airstrikes. Strikes killed 104 people in late October and 33 people in late
November, according to local health officials.
The remains found Wednesday by militants in northern Gaza were returned to
Israel, where they were being examined by forensics experts. Remains militants
handed over Tuesday did not match either of the last two hostages.
The return of all the hostages taken on the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that
started the war is a key element of the first phase of the ceasefire that began
in October. In exchange, Israel has been releasing Palestinian prisoners.
Last hostages in Gaza are an Israeli and Thai national
Once the last hostages' remains are returned and Israel releases more
Palestinian prisoners in exchange, the U.S.-backed ceasefire plan is supposed
to advance to the next phases, which call for creating an international
stabilization force, forming a technocratic Palestinian government and
disarming Hamas.
Earlier Wednesday, Netanyahu said forensic testing showed that partial
remains returned by militants Tuesday did not match either of the hostages
still in Gaza. Palestinian militants later said they had found more remains in
northern Gaza and turned them over to the Red Cross, which is acting as an
intermediary.
The two remaining bodies of hostages taken into Gaza are Israeli Ran Gvili
and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak. Gvili was an Israeli police officer who
helped people escape from the Nova music festival during the Oct. 7 attack and
was killed fighting at another location. Sudthisak Rinthalak was an
agricultural worker from Thailand who had been employed at Kibbutz Be'eri, one
of the hardest-hit communities in the attack.
A total of 31 workers from Thailand were abducted, the largest group of
foreigners to be held in captivity. Most of them were released in the first and
second ceasefires. The Thai Foreign Ministry has said in addition to the
hostages, 46 Thais have been killed during the war.
Opening of Rafah crossing complicated by dispute
Under the terms of the ceasefire, the long-closed Rafah crossing is to be
opened for medical evacuations and travel to and from Gaza. The World Health
Organization says there are more than 16,500 sick and wounded people who need
to leave Gaza for medical care.
It was not immediately clear when the border crossing would be opened,
however.
Egypt wants Palestinians to be able to return to Gaza through the crossing
and says it would only be opened if movement is allowed both ways. Israel says
Palestinians will not be able to return to Gaza through the crossing until the
last hostages' remains are returned from Gaza.
The Israeli military body charged with facilitating aid to Gaza, COGAT, said
Israel would coordinate with Egypt on the exit of Palestinians, under the
supervision of a mission from the European Union. Those wishing to leave Gaza
will require "Israeli security approval," COGAT said.
Palestinians who want to leave Gaza will be able to move through Rafah if
Egypt agrees to receive them, Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian
said. But the crossing won't be open for Palestinians seeking to return to Gaza
until all of the hostages in the territory are returned to Israel, she said.
Citing an unnamed Egyptian official, Egypt's State Information Service said,
if an agreement is reached, the crossing will be opened for travel in both
directions in accordance with the ceasefire plan advanced by U.S. President
Donald Trump.
Egypt fears that Palestinians allowed to leave Gaza might not be able to
return.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has warned that Israel might prompt
an exodus from Gaza as a way to permanently expel people and "eliminate the
Palestinian cause" for statehood. More than 100,000 Palestinians that left Gaza
after the war started, including those wounded in the conflict, have been
living in Egypt, according to Egyptian authorities.
The Rafah crossing was sealed off in May 2024 when Israel's military invaded
the area. It was briefly opened in February this year as part of a previous
ceasefire for the evacuation of sick and wounded Palestinians.
Fighting in Gaza City leads to 1 Palestinian death
In Gaza City, a Palestinian man was killed by Israeli fire, a hospital said,
marking the latest reported Palestinian fatality in the territory.
Israeli forces shot the 46-year-old man in the Zeitoun neighborhood,
according to the Al-Ahli hospital, which received the body. Israel's military
did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The hospital said the man was shot while in the "safe zone," which, under
the terms of the ceasefire, is not controlled by the Israeli military. The Gaza
Health Ministry says more than 360 Palestinians have been killed across Gaza
since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 11.
Return of Palestinian bodies in flux
Twenty living hostages and the remains of 26 others have been returned to
Israel since the ceasefire began.
Israel has been releasing 15 Palestinian bodies for the remains of each
hostage as part of the ceasefire agreement. The Gaza Health Ministry said the
total number of remains received so far is 330. Health officials in Gaza have
said they have only been able to identify a fraction of the bodies handed over
by Israel, and the process is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits.
The ceasefire aims to wind down the war that was triggered by the Hamas-led
attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken
hostage.
The Gaza Health ministry says the total Palestinian death toll from the war
is over 70,100. The ministry does not distinguish between militants and
civilians, though it says roughly half of those killed have been women and
children. The ministry operates under the Hamas-run government. It is staffed
by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally
reliable by the international community.
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