Israel says the remains were taken for forensic testing after being handed over to Hamas


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Hamas handed over the remains of one of the last two deceased hostages still in Gaza on Tuesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said, under the terms of an October ceasefire deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that Israeli forces in Gaza had obtained what they described as “finds” that would be taken to Israel for forensic testing.

The two remaining deceased hostages are Israeli police officer Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak, both abducted during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel that started the devastating two-year war in Gaza.

The Geneva-based ICRC acted as a mediator between militant groups in Gaza and Israel during the war sparked by an attack by a Palestinian militant group, helping to free live hostages and hand over remains.

Journalist killed in Israeli attack: local officials

Earlier, an Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian man, identified by local health authorities as freelance journalist Mahmoud Wadi, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

A senior Israeli military official told Reuters that Wadi took part in the October 2023 Hamas attack, citing photographs. Reuters could not immediately independently verify the official’s account.

Another Palestinian journalist was wounded in an Israeli attack, Gaza authorities said.

A boy and a man look at the body of a deceased man in a blue press vest.
Mourners react next to the body of freelance Palestinian journalist Mahmoud Wadi, who was killed in an Israeli strike on Tuesday, according to local health authorities, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. (Haseeb Alwazeer/Reuters)

Later, the Palestinian Civil Defense Service said Israeli tank shells hit a house on the outskirts of Gaza City, killing two people and wounding 15 others.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the incident.

The Gaza war began after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures, in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

The Gaza Ministry of Health reported on Saturday that the confirmed death toll from the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip has exceeded 70,000, most of them civilians.

At least 357 killed since October 10

Israel has continued to attack Gaza and destroy what it says is Hamas infrastructure since the October 10 ceasefire. Hamas and Israel accuse each other of violating US-backed agreements.

At least 357 Palestinians have been killed since the truce between Israel and Hamas took effect, according to Gaza health authorities. Palestinian militants killed three Israeli soldiers at the time, Israeli authorities said.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it had documented 201 journalists and media workers killed in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon, where the war spread shortly after the first attack in 2023.

WATCH | Aid groups warn of current living conditions in Gaza:

Many in Gaza without shelter as weather conditions worsen

Aid groups warn that the amount of aid reaching Gaza is nowhere near what was promised under the terms of a cease-fire deal with Israel, and the rains have left many with damaged shelters or nowhere to live while the weather turns colder.

Reuters journalists were among those killed. The number includes 193 Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza, six Israelis killed in Lebanon and two Israelis killed in the October 7 attack.

CPJ said Israel has never released the results of an official investigation or held anyone responsible for the killings of journalists by its military.

An Israeli military spokesman said Israeli forces targeted only fighters and military sites, avoiding civilians and journalists, and warned that being in active combat zones carries inherent risks despite efforts to minimize damage.

It has occasionally been claimed, without providing verifiable evidence, that some journalists were killed because of their ties to Hamas, which their news outlets have denied.



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