Israeli forces conduct an operation to recover the body of a hostage killed in Gaza

2024-04-06 22:30:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israeli forces conduct an operation to recover the body of a hostage killed in

Israel said on Saturday that its special forces had found the body of a hostage killed while being held captive in Gaza, shortly after Hamas said it would take part in a new round of ceasefire talks in Cairo.

Nearly six months after the start of the war, Israel is facing protests across the country calling for a deal to free the hostages kidnapped by Hamas in the October 7 attack. Western countries, meanwhile, have expressed outrage at the high number of casualties among Palestinian civilians and the humanitarian crisis caused by the fighting between Hamas and Israel.

The body of 47-year-old Israeli Elad Katzir was recovered by Israeli special forces south of the town of Khan Younis overnight, the army said. He had been killed by Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants and buried there in mid-January, the Israeli military said, citing intelligence it declined to elaborate on.

Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas, has yet to comment on the matter.

Elad Katzir was among 253 people dragged into the Gaza Strip by armed Hamas militants, who killed around 1,200 other people in southern Israel, according to official figures. This triggered a military offensive by Israel that, according to health officials in the Hamas-led Gaza Strip, has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians.

His father, Avraham, was killed at their kibbutz in the town of Nir Oz, and his mother Hanna was also taken hostage, but was released in November as part of a ceasefire agreement.

Qatari and Egyptian mediators are trying to secure a deal, which would include the release of the remaining 129 hostages in exchange for a longer ceasefire in Gaza.

Gaza's health ministry on Saturday reported the lowest daily death toll in six months, saying 46 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours.

The Gaza-based ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its reports, but local health officials say most of the casualties have been civilians. Israel says at least a third of them are fighters.

Hamas said on Saturday that its fighters launched a rocket attack on three Israeli tanks in Khan Younis, causing casualties. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the incident, although Israel had earlier said its troops had clashed with gunmen in the area./ Voa