Israel Says it Found Body of Another Hostage

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Facts

  • The Israeli military said late Thursday that it had found the body of one of the over 200 hostages taken by Hamas during its Oct. 7 surprise attack against Israel, Yehudit Weiss, in a building near al-Shifa Hospital, the Gaza Strip's largest hospital. The military said on Friday that it had also found the body of Cpl. Noa Marciano near al-Shifa a day earlier after reporting her death a few days beforehand.1
  • The military also said that it found a tunnel near al-Shifa along with some weapons, providing videos and photographs, though the footage couldn't be independently verified. Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using the hospital as a command center, saying more recently that the group had hidden evidence of its activities at al-Shifa. Hamas and medical administrators have vehemently denied Israel's claims.2
  • The Israeli military chief of general staff said the army is close to “dismantling the military system” set up by Hamas in northern Gaza, adding that Israeli forces will continue its operations in Gaza and target more regions of the strip, 'systematically eliminating commanding officers and eliminating operatives, and eradicating the infrastructure.' A communications blackout across the strip is still in place.3
  • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel hadn't been successful in minimizing civilian casualties but, ultimately, blamed Hamas for the high Palestinian death toll. Most civilians in the north of the strip have fled south. This came as Israel dropped leaflets in parts of the south warning civilians to evacuate, though it's unclear where they can go as conditions in the strip continue to deteriorate.4
  • Israel's war cabinet said it would allow two fuel trucks a day into the Gaza Strip so that the UN can provide some aid, with an Israeli official saying this would provide 'minimal' support for water and sewage systems, which will be monitored to ensure it doesn't go to Hamas. Meanwhile, the UN said that phone lines must be restored for aid to be effectively provided.5
  • As of Thursday, over 11K people in the Gaza Strip have reportedly been killed, over half of which were women and children, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. This number includes militant deaths, which Israel claims is in the thousands. Another 2.7K are reported missing, with most believed to be buried under the rubble. The official Israeli death toll, meanwhile, stands at 1.2K people.6

Sources: 1The New York Times, 2The Guardian, 3The Telegraph, 4Al Jazeera, 5BBC News and 6Associated Press.

Narratives

  • Pro-Israel, as provided by The Jerusalem Post. Israel has presented evidence that terrorists from Hamas have placed their headquarters underneath hospitals in Gaza, specifically to use civilians at the facilities as human shields. Indeed, the US has also verified that Hamas is using al-Shifa as a command center. Despite this, Israel, which has the right to defend its borders, is doing everything it can to minimize harm to the civilian population and provide aid while conducting critical military operations.
  • Pro-Palestine, as provided by Middle East Eye. Even if Israel's claims that Hamas is using hospitals as bases of operations are valid, it has an obligation under international law to protect these facilities during armed conflict. As Israel is committing horrendous human rights violations in Gaza, the international community must step up efforts to end the assault on Palestinians and work to address a humanitarian cataclysm.