Israeli military calls hostage's account “wake up call to the world”

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari on Tuesday said that released hostage Amit Soussana’s account of her treatment explained “why we are in Gaza … why we fight.” Soussana said her Hamas captors tortured and sexually abused her while holding her hostage in Gaza, according to a recent interview with The New York Times referenced by Hagari.

How many more hostages are in Gaza? A total of 134 hostages are still in Gaza, Hagari said Tuesday. He added that Hamas could stop the war if they released those hostages and surrendered, “but Hamas chooses not to do so.”

What’s going on at the battlefield level? Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday said that throughout Tuesday, their troops had conducted “precise operational activities” in the Shifa hospital in Gaza. It said those operations prevented harm to civilians, patients, and medical teams. Israel said its soldiers were conducting similar operations at the Al Amal hospital elsewhere in Gaza. Israeli forces have eliminated the leader of Hamas’ combat support staff, Ghazi Abu Tamaa, and one of the top leaders in Hamas’ military wing, Marwan Issa, according to a Tuesday statement by the IDF.

What have Gaza relief groups and Hamas said about the conflict? The Palestinian Red Crescent Society on Tuesday said that it had ceased all operations at the Al Amal hospital, saying that Israeli forces had cut off their access to the facility. The death toll among Palestinians has risen past 32,000, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Dig deeper: Read William Inboden’s column in WORLD Opinions about how a United Nations resolution calling for a cease-fire and hostage release effectively lends support to Hamas.