Israel hands over 30 bodies after receiving remains of two hostages
(JNS) — Israel returned the bodies of 30 Gazans on Friday after Hamas handed over the bodies of two Israeli hostages on Wednesday.
Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, which like all medical, educational and civilian sites in Gaza, served as a Hamas military hub, said that it received the bodies through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The exchange is the latest indication that the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal is advancing. The Israeli military said on Wednesday that the National Institute of Forensic Medicine had identified the returned remains of the two Israelis as Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch and notified relatives that the bodies were returned for burial.
Cooper, who Hamas terrorists kidnapped alive from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where he lived, on Oct. 7, 2023, was killed in captivity at age 84. He leaves behind a wife, four children and 11 grandchildren, the Israel Defense Forces said.
Baruch was abducted alive from his Kibbutz Be’eri home on Oct. 7, 2023, and Hamas terrorists killed him in captivity on Dec. 8, 2023. He was 25. Baruch leaves behind parents and two brothers, the Israeli military said.
“The IDF expresses deep condolences to the families, continues to make every effort to return all the deceased hostages and is prepared for the continued implementation of the agreement,” it said.
IDF: Hezbollah terrorist killed in drone strike
(JNS) — A Hezbollah terrorist was killed on Friday in an Israeli drone strike in the southern Lebanese town of Kounine, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The military identified the target as Ibrahim Raslan, a Hezbollah maintenance officer involved in restoring the terror group’s infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
“The terrorist’s activities constituted a threat to the State of Israel and its civilians, and a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF said in a statement.
It was the third consecutive day that the IDF hit Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon. On Thursday, it struck a launcher and tunnel shaft in the area of Mahmudiyah.
“The presence of the infrastructure in the area constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF said, adding that it will “continue to operate to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel.”
On Wednesday night, IDF troops struck a suspect during a raid in the village of Blida as part of its operations to destroy Hezbollah terror infrastructure.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened the Security Cabinet and the heads of Israel’s security agencies on Thursday to discuss reports that Hezbollah was regrouping in Southern Lebanon.
US downplays ‘little skirmishes’ as Israel bombs in Gaza and Hamas fails to return hostages
(JTA) — Israel carried out a bombing campaign in Gaza on Tuesday in response to what it said was violations of the two-week-old ceasefire by Hamas.
Hamas, meanwhile, rejected the claim that it was behind a deadly attack on Israeli soldiers and said Israel’s bombing was the ceasefire violation.
The two developments, plus Hamas’ continued holding of 13 hostages’ remains, represented the biggest threats yet to the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the two-year-long Gaza war. But U.S. Vice President JD Vance said he remained unconcerned.
“The ceasefire is holding,” Vance told reporters in Washington. “That doesn’t mean that there aren’t going to be little skirmishes here and there.”
President Donald Trump echoed the sentiments on Wednesday, telling reporters, “They killed an Israeli soldier. So the Israelis hit back. And they should hit back.”
Vance traveled to Israel last week as part of a U.S. pressure campaign to preserve the truce and set the region on a path toward a deeper peace. Both Israel and Hamas have tested the terms of the ceasefire while saying they remain committed to it.
Hamas has not released the remains of all of hostages as required by the ceasefire and on Monday night returned remains belonging to a murdered Israeli whose body had previously been returned to Israel. Video footage from Gaza appeared to show Hamas placing the remains underground before retrieving them to hand to the Red Cross for transport to Israel — a charade that the Red Cross denounced as “unacceptable” in a statement.
IDF thwarts imminent terror attack in northern Gaza
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces said it acted to remove an immediate threat by targeting terrorist infrastructure in the Beit Lahia area of northern Gaza on Wednesday.
According to the IDF, the weapons and “aerial means” stored at the site were intended for an “imminent terror attack against IDF soldiers and the State of Israel.”
Action was taken in accordance with the U.S.-backed ceasefire agreement between Jerusalem and the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza that took effect on Oct. 10, the statement emphasized.
“IDF soldiers in the Southern Command remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat,” the military said.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday expressed support for Israeli strikes in Gaza in response to an attack on soldiers in Rafah on Tuesday that killed Master Sgt. (res.) Yona Efraim Feldbaum, stressing that the incident had not jeopardized his Gaza peace plan.
“They killed an Israeli soldier, so the Israelis hit back, and they should hit back. When that happens they should hit back,” Trump told reporters, later adding that Israel has “a right” to retaliate. The president emphasized that “nothing’s going to jeopardize” the ceasefire agreement.
Netanyahu visits joint US-Israeli base monitoring Gaza deal
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the joint U.S.-Israeli command center in the northern Negev city of Kiryat Gat on Wednesday. The center was established to oversee the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
The premier spoke with U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Adm. Brad Cooper and Lt. Gen. Patrick Frank, commander of the U.S. Army in Central Command (U.S. Army Central).
According to an Israeli statement, Netanyahu was “impressed by the joint Israeli-American effort to advance and implement President Trump’s framework.”
The Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) opened on Oct. 17, days after a U.S.-backed ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza took effect. The three-story structure houses some 200 U.S. service members working with Israel and international partner nations.
“I am pleased to host our American friends here in Kiryat Gat. They are working together with us on a plan to achieve a different Gaza, a Gaza that will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” said Netanyahu.
“The first component, of course, is security, and the security responsibility for maintaining our forces and our freedom of action. This is an accepted matter, and we are doing it. It is important; it is a fundamental component,” the prime minister continued.
