Israeli troops advance in Khan Younis; deaths of six hostages ‘probably linked to IDF strike’

The deaths of six Israeli hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza in August were probably linked to an Israeli airstrike against Hamas near where they were being held, said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Wednesday.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had retrieved the body of Itay Svirsky, who was taken hostage on 7 October 2023, and then killed in Hamas captivity, according to a statement from the Israeli military.

Israeli forces advance in Khan Younis, 47 killed across enclave

Israeli tanks pushed into northern parts of the Khan Younis area in the south of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and Palestinian medics said further Israeli airstrikes had killed at least 47 people across the enclave.

Residents said tanks advanced one day after the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders, saying there had been rocket launches by Palestinian militants from the area.

With shells crashing near residential areas, families left their homes and headed westward towards the nearby humanitarian-designated area of Al-Mawasi. Palestinian and United Nations officials say there are no safe areas left in Gaza and that most of its 2.3 million people have been displaced multiple times.

Later on Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike at a tent encampment in al-Mawasi killed at least 17 people and wounded several others, medics said. The Civil Emergency Service said the attack set several tents housing displaced families ablaze.

Another Israeli airstrike hit three houses in Gaza City, killing at least 10 people and wounding many others, said the territory’s emergency service. Many victims were still trapped under the rubble with rescue operations under way.

Medics said 11 people were killed in three airstrikes on areas in central Gaza, including six children and a medic. Five of the dead had been queuing outside a bakery, they said.

A further nine Palestinians were killed by tank fire in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, said medics.

Israel’s military did not immediately comment on the information given by Palestinian medics.

Israeli forces also fired on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in north Gaza for the fifth straight day, said hospital director Hussam Abu Safiya. Three of his medical staff had been wounded, one critically, on Tuesday night, he said.

“Drones are dropping bombs filled with shrapnel that injure anyone that dares to move,” said Abu Safiya. “This situation is extremely urgent.”

Residents in three towns — Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun — said Israeli forces had blown up dozens of houses.

Palestinians say Israel’s army is trying to drive people out of the northern edge of Gaza with forced evacuations and bombardments to create a buffer zone. The Israeli army denies this and says it has returned to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping in an area where it had previously cleared them out.

The army says militants frequently use residential buildings, schools and hospitals for operational cover. Hamas denies this, accusing Israeli forces of indiscriminate attacks.

Israel launched its offensive in the densely populated enclave after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities across the border on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s military campaign has since killed more than 44,400 Palestinians, injured many others, and reduced much of the enclave to rubble.

Israel agreed to a ceasefire with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah last week that halted fighting in a conflict that has unfolded in Lebanon in parallel with the Gaza war.

But the war in Gaza has ground on with only a single ceasefire more than a year ago that lasted for one week.

Israel says deaths of six hostages in Gaza probably linked to IDF strike

The deaths of six Israeli hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza in August were probably linked to an Israeli airstrike against Hamas near where they were being held, said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Wednesday.

“At the time of the strike, the military had no information, not even a suspicion, that the hostages were in the underground compound or its vicinity,” said the military in a statement about the investigation into the hostages’ deaths.

“Had such information been available, the strike would not have been carried out.”

The statement said it was “highly probable that their deaths were related to the strike near the location where they were held”, although the precise circumstances were still not clear.

The military said the airstrike occurred in February while the bodies of the hostages were recovered in late August.

The most plausible scenario was that they were shot by Palestinian militants around the time of the strike, it said. It was also possible that they had already been killed previously, or that they were shot after they were already dead.

“Due to the extended time that had passed, it was not possible to determine clearly the cause of the death of hostages or the exact timing of the gunfire.”

IDF says it brought back the body of hostage from Gaza to Israel

The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had retrieved the body of Itay Svirsky, who was taken hostage on 7 October 2023, and then killed in Hamas captivity, according to a statement from the Israeli military.

A statement from the Hostages’ Families Forum, which represents families of those being held by Hamas, said that returning “Itay’s body for proper burial in Israel provides crucial closure for his family”.

A statement from the military said the family had been notified.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Svirsky’s body had been retrieved in a special operation and he thanked Israeli security forces.

“Our hearts are torn over the heavy loss of the Svirsky family,” said Netanyahu.

Hezbollah aims to rebuild longer term despite Israeli blows, says US intel

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has been significantly degraded militarily by Israel, but the Iran-backed group would probably try to rebuild its stockpiles and forces and pose a long-term threat to the US and its regional allies, four sources briefed on updated US intelligence told Reuters.

US intelligence agencies assessed in recent weeks that Hezbollah, even amid Israel’s military campaign, had begun to recruit new fighters and was trying to find ways to rearm through domestic production and by smuggling materials through Syria, said a senior US official, an Israeli official and two US legislators briefed on the intelligence, speaking on condition of anonymity.

It was unclear to what extent those efforts had slowed since last week when Hezbollah and Israel reached a shaky ceasefire, said two of the sources. The deal specifically prohibits Hezbollah from procuring weapons or weapons parts.

In recent days, Israel has tried to undercut Hezbollah’s ability to rebuild its military forces, striking several Hezbollah rocket launchers in Lebanon, bombing border crossings with Syria, and blocking an Iranian aircraft suspected of ferrying weapons for the group.

US intelligence agencies assess that Hezbollah is operating with limited firepower. It has lost more than half its weapons stockpiles and thousands of fighters during the conflict with Israel, reducing Tehran’s overall military capacity to its lowest point in decades, according to the intelligence.

But Hezbollah has not been destroyed. It still maintains thousands of short-range rockets in Lebanon and it will try to rebuild using weapons factories in neighbouring countries with available transport routes, said the sources.

US officials are concerned about Hezbollah’s access to Syria, where Syrian rebels recently launched an offensive to retake government strongholds in Aleppo and Hama. Hezbollah has long used Syria as a safe haven and transport hub, taking military equipment and weapons from Iraq, through Syria and into Lebanon through the rugged border crossings.

Washington is trying to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to limit Hezbollah’s operations, enlisting other countries in the region to help, said a senior US official. Reuters reported on Monday that the US and the United Arab Emirates have discussed possibly lifting sanctions on Assad if he peels himself away from Iran and cuts off weapons routes to Hezbollah.

Hamas threatens to ‘neutralise’ hostages if Israel launches rescue operation

Hamas said it had information that Israel intended to carry out a hostage rescue operation similar to one conducted in Gaza’s Nuseirat camp in June and threatened to “neutralise” the captives if any such action took place, according to an internal statement seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

In the statement dated 22 November, Hamas told its operatives not to consider what the repercussions of following the instructions might be and said it held Israel responsible for the fate of the hostages.

The statement, which a senior Hamas source told Reuters was circulated to its factions by the intelligence unit of the group’s military wing, Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, did not say when any Israeli operation was expected to take place.

There was no immediate Israeli response to the statement. On Wednesday, Israeli media cited Defense Minister Israel Katz as saying pressure on Hamas was increasing and this time “we will really be able to advance a hostage deal”.

Israel’s Nuseirat rescue operation on 9 June saw Israeli forces free four hostages, who had been held by Hamas since October 2023, in a raid Palestinian officials said killed more than 200 people, making it one of the bloodiest Israeli assaults of the war. DM

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