Body of hostage returned as military begins Gaza City offensive

[Twiglets1]

From the Independent:

Israel has said its military recovered the body of an Israeli man killed in the October 7 attack, as it suspended noon pauses to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza City.

The country’s army branded the area “a dangerous combat zone" as it announced it would be suspending the “tactical-local ceasefire” there from 10am on Friday in a post on X.

The shift comes as Israel prepares to mobilise tens of thousands of troops to seize Gaza City, calling it a "a dangerous combat zone". In the past, the country has said that Gaza City is a Hamas stronghold, with a network of tunnels that remain in use by militants after several previous large-scale raids.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that the body of 55-year-old Ilan Weiss of Kibbutz Be'eri as well as items belonging to another unnamed hostage were returned to Israel. His wife, Shiri, and daughter, Noga, were also abducted and later released as part of a hostage-prisoner swap deal in November 2023.

Gaza City was among the places where Israel paused fighting last month to allow food and aid supplies to enter from 10am to 8pm. The pauses applied to Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi, three places where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering.

The city, which is the strip’s largest urban centre, is also is home to some of the territory's critical infrastructure and health facilities. In the statement, Israel's military did not say whether they had notified residents or aid groups about the plans to resume daytime hostilities.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/ilan-weiss-body-found-israel-gaza-b2816443.html

YouTube video posted by The Jerusalem Post.

IDF soldiers found sleeping quarters used by Hamas terrorists in one of their terror tunnels in the Zeitun area, which were part of a recently demolished terrorist complex, the military said Thursday.

The kilometer-long tunnel was discovered during an operation led by the 7th Brigade. It was subsequently demolished through the combined efforts of the brigade's engineering forces, the Air Force, and Yahalom Combat Engineers.

www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-865633

The Times of Israel are also reporting on the one kilometre long Hamas tunnel that IDF soldiers discovered and destroyed in Zeitoun this week, equipped with living quarters and weapons.

They write: Israel has come under withering criticism on many aspects of its fight against Hamas. The careful destruction of entire neighbourhoods is in the spotlight now as international human rights organizations and the United Nations condemn the operation.

“As the occupying power, Israel must not destroy civilian property unless such destruction is rendered necessary by military operations,” said the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in a statement on the Zeitoun operation. “The widespread destruction of residential buildings in eastern and southern Gaza City does not appear to be required by imperative military necessity nor rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.”

Israeli officers told The Times of Israel that they were certain the tactic is legal and effective.

“Hamas decided to take all the homes in the Gaza Strip and turn them into terror infrastructure – there is no house where we didn’t find an explosive, Nukhba uniforms, weapons, RPG. There isn’t a house,” stressed Lt. Col. “Gimel,” commander of the 77th Armored Battalion. “The moment it decided to operate in that way, we had no choice but to destroy the infrastructure above ground in almost every place. In every place in Zeitoun, Hamas prepared for defense and attacks against our forces.”

“It decided to turn everything into a military array,” Gimel continued. “So we are destroying everything we need to in order to destroy Hamas.”

www.timesofisrael.com/back-in-zeitoun-for-the-7th-time-idf-adjusts-its-methods-to-dismantle-hamas-stronghold/

So horrific that the bodies of murdered civilians were transported into Gaza and held hostage for almost 2 years.

The mentality to be able to do that to another human being is beyond comprehension.

According to the BBC, the remains of another as yet unidentified hostage were also found.

At least the families can lay them to rest with dignity now.

It makes sense that these terrorists moved with the civilian population as their lairs were uncovered.

It’s a travesty, and surely a breach of the Geneva Convention, that Egypt hasn’t opened it’s borders to allow refuge for civilians when they’re going to be caught up in a heavily populated area for this next phase of the war but of course, that plays out very well for Hamas.

I think Egypt is worried reasonably about importing terrorism, reasonss as Bly given their own problems with the Muslim brotherhood and the ease with which Hamas uses civilians as cover. Also they probably think if they leave Israel will claim and they don’t want that either.

That’s what seems to be misunderstood, perhaps deliberately, by many regarding this war. It is not a normal war where civilians and civilian infrastructure is protected by the civilian’s own government. They have been calculatedly used as an offensive.

It will be very interesting indeed to see the outcomes when all the legal evidence is presented for Israeli operations after this war, although I doubt many opinions will change.

Unbelievable to hold onto dead bodies as a bargaining chip. Hamas are evil beyond belief.

It certainly is evil but likewise you do know, don’t you, that Israel holds on to the bodies of many Palestinians? So that makes them evil too.

I hope that makes you happy.

Both sides are evil for holding onto dead bodies. We should be able to condemn both.

Are you referring to Palestinian terrorists who have gone into Israel and been killed while carrying out terrorist attacks?

Has Israel ever gone into Gaza, deliberately murdered Palestinian civilians, then dragged their dead bodies back into Israel, along with their families, including children, as hostages?

I don’t think that’s likewise at all and think it’s obscene that you try to make it a comparison.

Do you know about the Cemeteries of Numbers. I would imagine that is what the pp was referring to.

I don’t know what you mean by “normal war” because every war I have heard of has some civilian infrastructure destroyed. But no post WWII war has had numbers like 92% of all homes destroyed and 83% of the dead being unarmed civilians. The only ones that come to mind and were comparable have been ruled genocides.

I am also no maths genius but how can 20k Hamas simultaneously be in all the homes, schools, hospitals, churches and mosques plus be living in tunnels?
Looking at just homes in Gaza there are close to half a million.

That means each Hamas terrorist must be living in over 25 homes, at least 1 church, mosque, school or hospital and also have living quarters in the tunnels. So I don’t believe the “every building” malarkey. They’re paying civilian contractors to bulldoze civilian buildings that have been cleared of all military threats.

The law says a civilian building is only a military target while a Hamas terrorist is currently sitting in it and is taking shots at you. If you’ve taken over that territory and cleared the building, you don’t then get to call in a contractor to bulldoze it after the battle is over.

Has Israel ever gone into Gaza, deliberately murdered Palestinian civilians, then dragged their dead bodies back into Israel…

The IDF do this routinely in the West Bank, including the bodies of children they have killed.

You don't seem to understand that people move. Especially over 2 years. Noone has ever claimed that Hamas fighters are actual magicians who can be in 2 places at once.

Alot of people have acknowledged that Israel are breaching international law by deliberately flattening the majority of civilian homes in Gaza.

The law says a civilian building is only a military target while a Hamas terrorist is currently sitting in it and is taking shots at you. If you’ve taken over that territory and cleared the building, you don’t then get to call in a contractor to bulldoze it after the battle is over.

I'm not sure how some people defending Israel still try and justify this.

And return decomposing bodies in the back of a container with no identification.

Whats that got to do with my point?

You do if that building is sitting on a tunnel which an awful lot of them are. Do you know how extensive the tunnel network is?

The tunnel network is bigger than the London underground apparently.

“Hamas decided to take all the homes in the Gaza Strip and turn them into terror infrastructure ... “The moment it decided to operate in that way, we had no choice but to destroy the infrastructure above ground in almost every place".

This will be the IDF will be saying in their defence and what the courts will need to consider before making a judgment about whether Israel are breaching international law or not by flattening the majority of civilian homes in Gaza.

Well, whatever the truth they've got plausible deniability given the fact they're trying to destroy the tunnels Hamas have built under peoples homes. Then hidden in. Stored weapons in. Held hostages in.

Direct your ire towards Hamas.

And another reminder, Hamas can stop all the civilian deaths that are going to happen by surrendering and accepting terms now.

They won't tho. Because they know those deaths build hatred of Israel, and thats what they want, more than to save the lives on their own.

Agree they have plausible deniability and Hamas gifted it to them.

I wouldn't want to make a judgement call on what the courts will decide and think the post war legal arguments could go on for years after the war ends. It's not as straightforward as some people assume, and that's because some only focus on what the IDF are doing and forget the Hamas part of the equation.

I think some international guidelines will need to be revisited in the wake of this war. I dont believe we've had a situation before where the ruling, losing power has actively courted their own people's death and suffering as weapon against their adversaries. Unthinkable that they haven't yet surrendered. With nothing left to possibly gain, other than more death and loss.

And booby trapped buildings. I remember reading in that during the 4 months Israel was restrained from going into Rafah by the Biden administration, Hamas was able to use that time to booby trap almost every residential building ostensibly to cause as many deaths of IDF troops as possible.

I imagine Gaza City might be the same.

Should booby trapped civilian infrastructure have been left for civilians to return to?

It’s easy to figure out who would be held responsible for that.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-807932

I agree.

In the same way that guidelines changed after WW2 they probably will change after this war. It will be easier to analyse what happened and what needs to be changed in future when it’s over and thus not quite such an emotive topic.