Al Jazeera: Israeli air strikes in southern Gaza. Hamas hands over two more hostage bodies
For Israeli Defence Minister Katz: 'after the fighting stops, we will demilitarise Gaza and destroy tunnels'
Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on the towns of Abasan al-Kabira and Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip in the evening, according to Al Jazeera Arabic. The airstrikes come a day after the Israeli raid on Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza, at what Israel claimed was a 'terrorist site'.
W.Post: "Report finds hundreds of Idf violations in Gaza"
A classified report by the US State Department's Inspector General's Office has found that Israeli military units have allegedly committed "hundreds of potential violations" of US human rights law in Gaza, according to two US officials told the Washington Post. The analysis indicates that the State Department may need "years" to investigate complaints deemed credible, raising doubts about the feasibility of effective accountability for Israel's actions. This is the first time a US government report has acknowledged the extent of alleged Israeli violations under Leahy laws, which prohibit military assistance to foreign units involved in serious human rights abuses.
Identified bodies of the two hostages handed over by Hamas
Sono stati identificati i corpi di Amiram Cooper e Sahar Baruch, i due ostaggi israeliani i cui resti sono stati restituiti da Hamas e riconosciuti presso l’Istituto di Medicina legale. Il kibbutz Nir Oz ha comunicato che “Amiram Cooper, tra i fondatori del kibbutz Nir Oz, fu rapito il 7 ottobre e assassinato in prigionia a Gaza. Economista, agricoltore e poeta, era una persona amata e devota alla famiglia, marito di Nurit, padre di Rotem, Ravit, Lotan e Yisroel, e nonno di undici nipoti”. Lo riporta Ynet. Il governo israeliano ha confermato che anche il 25enne Sahar Baruch è tra le vittime identificate. “Il governo condivide il profondo dolore delle famiglie Cooper e Baruch, e di tutte le famiglie degli ostaggi caduti”, si legge in una nota dell’Ufficio del Primo Ministro.
"Israel still has work to do in Gaza", Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced during a graduation ceremony for cadets at the Bahad 1 officer school in the south of the country, as reported by Times of Israel. "If Hamas continues to openly violate the ceasefire, it will suffer powerful attacks like those of two days ago and yesterday," the premier warned, referring to recent Israeli operations in the Strip. "We are the ones who decide, and we will act whenever necessary to eliminate immediate threats against our forces." Netanyahu emphatically reiterated, "We are the ones who decide, and we will act," in response to criticism that restrictions imposed by Washington had curbed the Israeli response to Hamas attacks that have claimed casualties among IDF soldiers.
According to the ceasefire agreement, Hamas has already released all living hostages under its control in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees of war, while Israel, for its part, has withdrawn troops from the Strip, halted its offensive and increased aid to the Palestinian enclave. Hamas has also agreed to hand over the remains of all 28 dead hostages in exchange for 360 Palestinian militants killed in the war. It has so far handed over 15 bodies.
