Israel retrieves bodies of five hostages from Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces retrieved the bodies of five hostages from the Khan Yunis area inside Gaza on Wednesday. Hamas stole the bodies of four soldiers who died in combat on Oct. 7, the IDF said. The terror group also killed kindergarten teacher Maya Goren after abducting her on Oct. 7, the military added. The soldiers’ names are Master Sgt. Oren Goldin (reserve), Staff Sgt. Tomer Ahimas, Sgt. Kiril Brodski and Sgt. Maj. Ravid Aryeh Katz (reserve). The military used information from several expert sources and government offices to recover the bodies. Israel mounted a renewed push into the Khan Yunis area where the bodies were found just days before the mission.

Wasn’t Khan Yunis considered a humanitarian zone? The IDF called for more civilian evacuations in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis early Monday morning with plans to redouble efforts fidgeting Hamas in the area. Intel showed terrorist infrastructure embedded in the area, the IDF said. Officials also noted significant terror activity in the region, specifically noting rockets shot toward Israel from the eastern region.

Civilians were instructed to head for the redefined humanitarian area in the coastal town of Al-Mawasi, it added. Hamas attempted to launch more rocket attacks on Israel Wednesday from Khan Yunis, but the projectiles hit a United Nations Relief and Works Agency school instead, according to the IDF. Civilians injured in the attack were evacuated for initial medical treatment, the IDF added.

The IDF has also been internationally criticized for attacks affecting civilians and Hamas has alleged that thousands of Gaza casualties include civilians. UNRWA said Thursday that people in Gaza are exhausted by continuous evacuations and families have nowhere safe to go.

Dig deeper: Read my report on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress on the day of the mission.