Army identifies one of the captives as Yair Yaakov
The Israeli army announced Wednesday that it has retrieved the bodies of two captives from the Gaza Strip.
“The Israeli army and Shin Bet (internal security agency) rescued the bodies of kidnapped Yair Yaakov and another hostage whose name has not yet been cleared for publication from Khan Younis,” it said in a statement
Israel estimates that 54 hostages remain in Gaza, including 20 believed to be alive. Meanwhile, more than 10,100 Palestinians are being held in Israeli prisons under harsh conditions, with reports of torture, starvation and medical neglect, according to Palestinian and Israeli rights groups.
Israel, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a genocidal offensive in Gaza since October 2023, killing over 55,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave's more than 2 million inhabitants.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.
