Israeli army says it retrieved body of hostage in Gaza’s Khan Younis

By Anadolu Staff

The Israeli army on Saturday said that it retrieved the body of a hostage during an operation in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip.

In a statement, the Israeli army said that “the body of the late hostage Elad Katzir, who according to intelligence information was killed in captivity … was retrieved from Khan Younis.”

Katzir was taken hostage alongside his mother, who was later released on Nov. 24, 2023 as part of a hostage deal between Hamas and Israel, the statement said.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack in early October by the Palestinian group, Hamas, killed less than 1,200 people.

The group captured at least 239 hostages. Some of the hostages were exchanged with Israel during a temporary humanitarian pause that lasted seven days in early December.

More than 33,100 Palestinians have since been killed and 75,750 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which last week asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi