JERUSALEM: Israeli forces identified the body of one the hostages seized by Hamas gunmen on Oct. 7 and confirmed that another four had died, the military said on Friday, as fighting resumed in the Gaza Strip after a week-long pause.
Ofir Tzarfati, one of the people captured at the Nova music party in Re’im just outside Gaza, was found by Israeli forces recently and identified earlier this week by forensic officials, the military said in a statement.
In addition, chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the families of the hostages Eliyahu Margalit, Maya Goren, Ronen Engel and Arye Zalmanovich had been informed of their deaths, based on “reliable intelligence.”
A group representing hostage families also said a sound engineer at the Nova festival named as Guy Illouz, who had been taken hostage, was confirmed to have died in captivity.
In all, some 240 hostages were seized during the Oct. 7 attack, in which some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed, according to Israeli authorities.
During the seven-day pause, which ended on Friday morning, authorities said 110 hostages — 86 Israelis and 24 foreigners — were released in exchange for Palestinian detainees, while the bodies of two hostages were recovered by Israeli troops.
Hamas said this week that the youngest hostage, 10-month-old Kfir Bibas, his 4-year-old brother Ariel and their mother Shira Bibas had been killed during an Israeli bombardment but the Israeli military said the information was still not verified.
Israel has responded to the Oct. 7 attack with its heaviest-ever bombardment of Gaza and with a ground invasion of the enclave that together have killed more than 14,000 people, around 40 percent of them under 18, according to Palestinian authorities.
Israeli leaders have vowed to continue the operation to return all the hostages to Israel and destroy Hamas, the Islamist movement which rules Gaza and has vowed to annihilate Israel.
Israeli authorities identify Gaza hostages dead in captivity
https://arab.news/gf3ym
Israeli authorities identify Gaza hostages dead in captivity
- The families of the hostages Eliyahu Margalit, Maya Goren, Ronen Engel and Arye Zalmanovich had been informed of their deaths
- In all, some 240 hostages were seized during the Oct. 7 attack
Ceasefire with Kurdish-led force extended for another 15 days, Syrian army says
- The defense ministry said the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants to Iraq
- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension
RAQQA, Syria: Hours after the expiration of a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters Saturday, Syria’s defense ministry announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension.
“Our forces affirm their commitment to the agreement and their dedication to respecting it, which contributes to de-escalation, the protection of civilians, and the creation of the necessary conditions for stability,” the group said in a statement.
Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
Earlier in the day, the Kurdish-led force called on the international community to prevent any escalation.
The end of the truce came as government forces have been sending reinforcements to Syria’s northeast.
Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.
A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.
The SDF said in a statement Saturday that military buildups and logistical movements by government forces have been observed, “clearly indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new confrontation.” The SDF said it will continue to abide by the truce.
On Saturday, state TV said authorities on Saturday released 126 boys under the age of 18 who were held at the Al-Aqtan prison near the northern city of Raqqa that was taken by government forces Friday. The teenagers were taken to the city of Raqqa where they were handed over to their families, the TV station said.
The prison is also home to some of the 9,000 members of the Daesh group who are held in northeastern Syria. Most of them remain held in jails run by the SDF. Government forces have so far taken control of two prisons while the rest are still run by the SDF.
Earlier this week, the US military said that some 7,000 Daesh detainees will be transferred to detention centers in neighboring Iraq.
On Wednesday, the US military said that 150 prisoners have been taken to Iraq.
