Hamas released the remains of one of the final two deceased hostages from Gaza, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, as stipulated by the ceasefire agreement reached in October. Israeli forces in Gaza have received potential evidence that will undergo forensic testing in Israel, as announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
The two remaining deceased hostages are Ran Gvili, an Israeli police officer, and Sudthisak Rinthalak, a Thai national, who were both abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a two-year conflict in Gaza. The ICRC, based in Geneva, has been facilitating negotiations between Gaza militant factions and Israel since the outbreak of the war, aiding in the release of surviving hostages and the repatriation of remains.
In another development, a freelance journalist named Mahmoud Wadi was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, as reported by local health authorities. The Israeli military alleged that Wadi was involved in the October 2023 Hamas attack, although independent verification of this claim was not immediately available. Additionally, another Palestinian journalist was injured in the same strike, according to Gaza authorities.
Following these events, the Palestinian Civil Defence reported that two individuals were killed and 15 others were wounded in a Gaza City suburb due to Israeli tank shellings. The Israeli military did not respond immediately to requests for comments on the incident.
The conflict in Gaza originated from the Hamas-led attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,200 individuals, predominantly civilians, and the abduction of 251 hostages in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The Gaza Health Ministry confirmed that over 70,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Since the ceasefire on October 10, Israel has continued to target Hamas infrastructure in Gaza, leading to accusations of violations from both sides. According to Gaza health authorities, at least 357 Palestinians have died since the ceasefire, while Israeli authorities reported the deaths of three soldiers during the same period.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) documented the deaths of 201 journalists and media personnel in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon, where the conflict spread post the initial attack in 2023. Among the casualties were journalists associated with Reuters. The CPJ criticized Israel for not conducting formal investigations or holding anyone accountable for the deaths of journalists by the military.
Israeli military officials maintain that their actions target combatants and military sites while avoiding civilian casualties. They have suggested that journalists killed may have had links to Hamas, an assertion denied by the journalists’ organizations.
