Palestinian militants hand over remains of 2 more hostages

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JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said Thursday that Palestinian militants have handed over the remains of two more hostages, the latest evidence that a fragile ceasefire is moving forward despite Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip this week.

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Two sets of remains were handed over to the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip, then soldiers transported them to Israel and took them to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine for identification, the Israeli military said.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said late Thursday that the remains had been confirmed as those of Sachar Baruch and Amiram Cooper, who were taken hostage in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that started the war.

Hamas has already returned the remains of 17 hostages since the ceasefire began, with another 11 still in Gaza to be handed over under the terms of the agreement.

In response, Israel returned the bodies of 195 Palestinians to Gaza authorities, without disclosing details of their identities. It is unclear whether they were killed in Israel during the Oct. 7 attack, died in Israeli custody as detainees, or were taken out of the Gaza Strip by troops during the war. Health officials in the Gaza Strip have struggled to identify the bodies without access to DNA kits.

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Baruch was about to earn a degree in electrical engineering when he was taken hostage from Kibbutz Be'eri. His brother Idan died in the attack. Three months after Sahar's capture, the Israeli military said he had been killed during a rescue attempt. He was 25.

Cooper was an economist and one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz. He was captured along with his wife Nurit, who was released after 17 days. In June 2024, Israeli officials confirmed that he had been killed in the Gaza Strip. He was 84.

Overnight strikes injured 40 people

Officials in the southern Gaza Strip said Thursday that at least 40 people were injured in overnight strikes after Israel announced a renewed ceasefire on Wednesday morning.

Mohammad Sa'ar, head of nursing at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, said overnight strikes on Khan Younis wounded 40 people.

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The Israeli army said it struck “terrorist infrastructure that poses a threat to troops” in Khan Yunis. The area in the southern Gaza Strip is under the control of the Israeli military.

After strikes earlier this week killed more than 100 people, Israel said it was retaliating for the shooting and killing of one of its soldiers in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said Hamas violated provisions of the agreement regarding the transfer of the hostages' remains.

Hamas has denied any involvement in the deadly shooting and has in turn accused Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony for military commanders in southern Israel on Thursday, Netanyahu warned: “If Hamas continues to flagrantly violate the ceasefire, it will be subjected to heavy blows, as it was the day before and yesterday.”

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He said Israel would “act as necessary” to remove “imminent danger” to its forces.

“In the end, Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized. If foreign forces do it, so much the better. And if they don't, we will do it.”

The guarantors of the fragile Gaza ceasefire have told Hamas that Israel will resume, and they will not object to, military strikes on targets in the Israeli-occupied zone of Palestinian territory after a deadline for militants to leave the area expired on Thursday.

A senior US official said messages relayed to Hamas by Egypt and Qatar on Wednesday told the group that remaining militants in the yellow zone had 24 hours to leave or face Israeli strikes. That deadline expired on Thursday, after which the official said that “Israel will enforce the ceasefire and attack Hamas targets beyond the yellow line.”

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The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic conversations.

The truce, which began on October 10, aims to end what is by far the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas.

The war was sparked by an attack on Israel in October 2023 by Hamas-led militants that killed about 1,200 people and took another 251 hostage.

In the two years since, Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 68,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and is staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records that independent experts consider generally reliable. Israel, which some international critics accuse of genocide in Gaza, disputes the figures without citing contradictory figures.

— Frankel reported from Jerusalem and Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

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