Israeli Forces Found Bodies of Two Hostages in Gaza
Israeli says its troops have found the body of a second woman held hostages by Hamas, during a search close To Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
Israel says it has found the bodies of two hostages near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza – Yehudit Weiss, a 65-year-old recovering from cancer, and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Corporal Noa Marciano.
The IDF says it found a tunnel shaft and a “booby-trapped vehicle” on hospital grounds during its raid on Al-Shifa.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CBS News in the United State (US) there had been “strong” intelligence indications that Hamas were keeping hostages at the hospital, but they had been moved by the time the IDF closed in.
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Israeli Prime Minister says Hamas commanders were inside the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza but fled just before the military raided the site earlier this week.
Earlier this week, the IDF also released a video from the same hospital announcing the discovery of weapons and explosives purportedly found in that medical centre.
In its latest post it has shared a picture of “a large amount of weaponry and ammunition” found in Al-Quds Hospital.
Mr Netanyahu said Israel’s attempts to minimise civilian casualties were “not successful”, and he accused Hamas of preventing civilians from moving to safer locations.
“Any civilian death is a tragedy. And we shouldn’t have any because we’re doing everything we can to get the civilians out of harm’s way, while Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm’s way,” Mr Netanyahu said.
“So we send leaflets, (we) call them on their cell phones, and we say: ‘leave’. And many have left,” he added.
The Israeli military’s chief of staff said Israel was close to destroying Hamas’ military system in the northern Gaza Strip and there were signs the army was taking its campaign to other parts of the enclave of 2.3 million people.
Israel distributed pamphlets telling civilians to leave four towns in southern Gaza, areas Gazans had been previously told would be safe.
