Current:Home > NewsIsrael finds the body of a hostage killed in Gaza while negotiators say talks will resume on a cease-fire-LoTradeCoin
Israel finds the body of a hostage killed in Gaza while negotiators say talks will resume on a cease-fire
View Date:2024-12-23 22:17:36
Israel's military said Saturday it had recovered the body of a 47-year-old farmer who was held hostage in Gaza, while negotiators prepared to begin another round of talks Sunday on brokering a cease-fire and securing the release of the remaining hostages, six months into the war.
Israel's army said it found the body of Elad Katzir and believed he was killed in January by militants with Islamic Jihad, one of the groups that entered southern Israel in the Oct. 7 attack, killed more than 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. Katzir was abducted from Nir Oz, a border community that suffered some of the heaviest losses.
The discovery renewed pressure on Israel's government for a deal to get the remaining hostages freed. Families have long feared time is running out. At least 36 hostages in captivity have been confirmed dead. About half of the original number have been released.
"He could have been saved if a deal had happened in time," Katzir's sister Carmit said in a statement read to the media. "Our leadership is cowardly and driven by political considerations, and that is why (a deal) did not happen."
Israelis are divided on the approach by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. A week ago, tens of thousands of Israelis thronged central Jerusalem in the largest anti-government protest since the war began.
Inside Gaza, the toll of Israel's offensive is measured in tens of thousands of deaths and more than a million Palestinians displaced.
"We have arrived at a terrible milestone," the U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said in a statement marking six months and noting "the immediate prospect of a shameful man-made famine." He called the prospect of further escalation in Gaza "unconscionable."
Cease-fire negotiations will resume on Sunday, according to an Egyptian official and Egypt's state-owned Al Qahera TV. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the talks.
U.S. President Joe Biden has sent CIA Director Bill Burns to Egypt. A Hamas delegation will arrive on Sunday to join the talks, the militant group said.
Hamas has insisted on linking a phased end to the war - not a temporary cease-fire - to any agreement releasing hostages. It has said it will agree to release 40 hostages as part of an initial six-week cease-fire deal that would include the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Hamas also seeks the return of displaced people to devastated northern Gaza and more aid.
Israel has offered to allow only 2,000 displaced Palestinians - mainly women, children and older people - to the north daily during a six-week cease-fire.
The talks come days after international condemnation of Israeli airstrikes that killed seven humanitarian workers with the World Central Kitchen charity. The Israeli military described the strike as a tragic error. Aid groups say the mistake is hardly an anomaly. The U.N. says at least 190 aid workers were killed in Gaza through the end of March.
Some Israel allies now consider halting arms sales. Biden warned Netanyahu that future U.S. support for the war depends on swift implementation of new steps to protect civilians and aid workers.
"We need security guarantees for us as humanitarians but also for the people we serve," said Marika Guderian with the World Food Program, speaking inside Gaza.
Humanitarian aid deliveries delayed
The killings halted aid deliveries on a crucial new sea route for humanitarian aid directly to Gaza as the U.N. and partners warn of "imminent famine" for 1.1 million people, or half the population. The humanitarian group Oxfam says people in northern Gaza are surviving on an average of 245 calories a day.
In Jabaliya, a refugee camp near Gaza City, families scrounged in the rubble for mallow leaves to make a thin broth to break the daily Ramadan fast.
"Life has become miserable. They (daughters) tell me, 'Father, you are feeding us mallow, mallow, mallow every day. We want to eat fish, chicken, canned food. We are craving eggs, or anything,'" said Wael Attar. They shelter in a school as part of the 1.7 million people displaced in Gaza.
Israel has promised to open more border crossings into Gaza and increase the flow of aid. The U.N. says that in March, 85% of trucks with food aid were denied or impeded.
The war's death toll in Gaza is 33,137, the territory's Health Ministry said. Its toll doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants, but it has said women and children make up the majority of the dead.
The ministry said the bodies of 46 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes had been brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours - the lowest such daily tally in months.
Israel has blamed Hamas for civilian deaths in Gaza, accusing it of operating in residential communities and public areas like hospitals.
The U.N. said it finally gained access to Gaza's largest hospital, Shifa, following a dayslong Israeli raid and found what the head of the World Health Organization called "an empty shell with human graves," with most buildings destroyed.
Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah now holds more than half of the territory's 2.3 million people, and Israel's vow to carry out a ground offensive there has caused weeks of dread and warnings even from Israel's top ally, the United States.
An Egyptian official on Friday called Israel's most recent proposal to evacuate civilians from Rafah an "unrealistic and unworkable plan." Egypt again threatened to suspend parts of the Camp David Accords that facilitate security cooperation.
- In:
- Israel
- Gaza Strip
veryGood! (78223)
Related
- Republican Scott Baugh concedes to Democrat Dave Min in critical California House race
- Moms for Liberty reports more than $2 million in revenue in 2022
- Is the right to free speech being curbed in Israel amid the war with Hamas?
- Who is Bengals QB Jake Browning? What to know about Joe Burrow's backup in Cincinnati
- FC Cincinnati player Marco Angulo dies at 22 after injuries from October crash
- The U.S. has special rules for satellites over one country: Israel
- America is facing its 'worst rate of hunger' in years, food banks say. Here's why.
- Iowa's evangelical voters have propelled candidates to victory in Iowa in the past. Will they stick with Trump?
- Bluesky has added 1 million users since the US election as people seek alternatives to X
- Death toll from floods in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia rises to 130
Ranking
- Kentucky woman seeking abortion files lawsuit over state bans
- STAYC reflects on first US tour, sonic identity and being a 'comfort' to SWITH
- The Moscow Times, noted for its English coverage of Russia, is declared a ‘foreign agent’
- Families of missing in Mexico urge authorities to dig at spot where dogs were seen with body parts
- What Happened to Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone Character? John Dutton’s Fate Revealed
- Ohio man facing eviction fatally shoots property manager, 2 others before killing himself
- Olympic champ Sunisa Lee gained 45 pounds due to kidney issue. 'It was so scary.'
- Israeli troops kill 5 Palestinians, including 3 militants, as West Bank violence surges
Recommendation
-
Cameron Brink set to make Sports Illustrated Swimsuit debut
-
Rio’s iconic Christ statue welcomes Taylor Swift with open arms thanks to Swifties and a priest
-
Censored art from around the world finds a second opportunity at a Barcelona museum for banned works
-
Maren Morris clarifies she's not leaving country music, just the 'toxic parts'
-
NATO’s Rutte calls for more Western support for Ukraine, warns of Russian alliances
-
Mississippi’s capital city is considering a unique plan to slash water rates for poor people
-
Struggling with what to bring to Thanksgiving dinner? These tips can keep the host happy.
-
Judge declares mistrial in case of Brett Hankison, ex-officer involved in fatal Breonna Taylor raid