Body of hostage recovered in central Gaza
Recovered body in Gaza as IDF strikes operatives crossing Yellow Line during tense ceasefire period.
(THE TIMES OF ISRAEL) The body of a hostage held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad was recovered in an area north of central Gaza’s Nuseirat, the terror group said on Monday.
The announcement that it had “found” the body during excavation work in the central Gaza Strip earlier in the day confirmed an Al Jazeera report from hours earlier, but there was no immediate word from Islamic Jihad or Hamas regarding the planned transfer of the body to Israel.
The bodies of three slain hostages are still held in the Gaza Strip — two Israelis and one Thai national: Dror Or, Master Sgt Ran Gvili, and Sudthisak Rinthalak.
Over the weekend, Arabic-language media reported that both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were searching for the final three bodies of slain hostages held in the Strip.
Footage showed Islamic Jihad gunmen standing alongside excavators bearing Egyptian flags during the digging operations in Nuseirat.
In addition, the Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported that Hamas is searching for a body in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, south of Gaza City.
Under the terms of the ceasefire deal, both organisations are obligated to return the remains. However, they claim they have struggled to locate the remaining bodies despite repeated searches — claims Israel has questioned.
Meny Godard, who was murdered and abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel, was the most recent slain hostage to be returned, on 13 November.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces said on Monday it had identified and struck three terror operatives who crossed the Yellow Line demarcating the military’s withdrawal zone in the southern Gaza Strip.
The operatives were spotted crossing the line in the Khan Younis area and approaching troops of the Kfir Brigade, while “posing an immediate threat,” the military said.
The Israeli Air Force, acting on information provided by ground forces, struck the operatives “to remove the threat,” the IDF said. Palestinian media reported that two people were killed in a strike in the area.
Later in the day, the military said that in two separate incidents, several operatives were spotted crossing the Yellow Line in the Strip’s north and approaching troops of the 188th Armoured Brigade and reservists of the Carmeli Brigade, again “posing an immediate threat.”
Troops opened fire, killing two of the operatives, the army said.
The IDF said it remains deployed in Gaza “in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat.”
The incidents came days after an escalation in hostilities, as Israel and Palestinian terror groups continued to trade accusations of ceasefire violations.
On Saturday, Israel carried out deadly strikes across Gaza targeting senior Hamas officials after a Palestinian gunman opened fire on Israeli troops in the Strip’s south.
The first phase of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan formed the basis of the 9 October truce-hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.
In the next phase of the plan, Israel is meant to withdraw further from the so-called Yellow Line, alongside the establishment of a transitional authority to govern Gaza, the deployment of a multinational security force to replace the IDF, the disarmament of Hamas, and the start of reconstruction.
Hamas has so far refused to agree to demilitarisation. Israel insists the Strip must be fully demilitarised before Trump’s plan can progress.
Times of Israel staff and Agencies contributed to this report.
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