*Israel Targets Houti Leaders In Attack On Thursday
*WHO Warns Critical Medical Supplies Running Out
THE Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), on Friday, August 29, announced that the body of Israeli hostage, Ilan Weiss, has been recovered in an operation in the Gaza Strip.
Weiss, 56, was killed during Hamas’s attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
IDF added that the remains of a second hostage, whose identity has not been released yet, were also recovered.
Israel launched a massive offensive in Gaza following the attack in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken back to the territory as hostages.
After the latest announcement, 48 hostages remain in Gaza, 20 of whom Israel believes are still alive.
Weiss was killed while defending Kibbutz Beeri on the day of the attack and his body taken to Gaza.
His wife, Shiri, and daughter, Noga, were also taken hostage by Hamas on the same day, but were released during a temporary ceasefire in November 2023.
“Ilan showed courage and noble spirit when he fought the terrorists on that dark day,” Israeli President, Isaac Herzog, said before praising his family’s “extraordinary strength in their struggle for his return.”
Weiss, 55, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel, was kidnapped from his home and killed during the Hamas cross-border attack, the Israeli military said.
The prime minister’s office said the campaign to return the hostages was ongoing, adding: “We will neither rest nor be silent until we bring all of our hostages back home, the living and the deceased,” the statement said.
Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza following the attack has displaced nearly the entire 2.3 million population, devastated infrastructure and triggered a humanitarian crisis, killing over 62,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been facing strong domestic pressure to agree a deal that would enable the return of all hostages still in captivity.
According to Reuters, huge protests have been held demanding an end to the war, as Israel pushes ahead with its plan to take over Gaza City and eventually establish control over the entire Strip.
Netanyahu believes the defeat of Hamas will secure the release of the hostages, with the military already beginning “initial stages” of its advance into Gaza City, despite international condemnation.
Meanwhile, Israeli military said local tactical pause will not apply to Gaza City, as it “constitutes a dangerous combat zone.”
Israel’s security cabinet had approved a plan to take control of Gaza City, a move expanding military operations in the shattered Palestinian territory that drew strong criticism at home and abroad over its pursuit of the almost two-year-old war.
Last month, Israel announced a halt in military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and new aid corridors as Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped supplies into the enclave.
The Israeli military said on Friday that it “will continue to support humanitarian efforts, alongside ongoing maneuvering and offensive operations against terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip.
In a related development, Israel targeted senior Houthi officials in Thursday strikes, awaiting outcome.
Israel’s Army radio said on Friday the military had targeted the Houthi chief of staff and the Iran-aligned group’s defence minister on Thursday, and was awaiting confirmation on the outcome of the strike.
An Israeli military official said fighter jets struck a compound in the Sanaa area where senior Houthi figures had gathered, describing the attack as a “complex operation” made possible by intelligence-gathering and air superiority.”
The official added in a statement: “We took advantage of an intelligence window of opportunity to carry out the strike and acted with precision and speed at the right moment.”
On Thursday, Israeli security sources said forces had targeted various locations where a large number of senior Houthi officials had gathered to watch a televised speech recorded by leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi.
The Iran-aligned Houthis have attacked vessels in the Red Sea in what they describe as acts of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, and also fired missiles towards Israel, most of which have been intercepted.
Israel had responded with strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including the vital Hodeidah port.
The Houthi group did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, but a source from the Houthi Ministry of Defence had denied on Thursday reports of leaders being targeted in Sanaa, the news agency run by the group reported.
At the moment, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that it had run out of critical medical supplies in Gaza.
It stated that it needs to treat a surge in cases of a rare paralysis-causing syndrome (GBS) in the Palestinian enclave on Friday, August 29, leading to 10 deaths since June.
GBS is a rare condition that involves a person’s immune system attacking the peripheral nerves and severe cases can result in near-total paralysis and breathing problems.
Although GBS is usually treatable, the WHO said its treatment efforts were constrained by a lack of certain medical supplies.
