Bodies of Three Hostages Found; GHF Confirms Urgent Need for More Aid in Gaza

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The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have announced the recovery of the remains of three hostages from the Gaza Strip. These individuals have been identified as Yonatan Samerano, 21; Ofra Keidar, 70; and Shay Levinson, 19. In a Facebook post, Kobi Samerano mentioned that his son’s remains were returned on Yonatan’s 23rd birthday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed that the ongoing efforts to recover hostages are proceeding alongside the campaign against Iran.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 55,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s air and ground war in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The attack on October 7 by Hamas-led militants resulted in the death of approximately 1,200 people, primarily civilians, and the abduction of 251 individuals. Many of these hostages have since been released through ceasefire negotiations or other agreements, with eight being rescued alive, while Israeli forces have found many bodies.

GHF acknowledges Gazans ‘desperately need more aid’

Meanwhile, the US and Israeli-backed aid organisation brought in to distribute food rations in Gaza last month said on Saturday that people in the Palestinian territory “desperately need more aid”.

The admission by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) that it has been unable to meet demand came after severe criticism from other aid groups and near-daily deadly shootings near distribution points.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Saturday that Israeli troops had killed at least 17 people, including eight who were seeking food in the territory, which is suffering from famine-like conditions due to Israeli restrictions, according to aid groups.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), a significant number of Palestinian casualties are children and women. On Saturday, John Acree, interim executive director of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), expressed that the organization is effectively delivering aid on a large scale. However, he pointed out the challenges in meeting the full extent of needs due to widespread closures within Gaza.

He said the GHF was “working with the government of Israel to honour its commitment and open additional sites in northern Gaza”.

“The people of Gaza desperately need more aid and we are ready to partner with other humanitarian groups to expand our reach to those who need help the most,” Acree said.

GHF’s operations have been slammed as a “failure” by the United Nations, while other aid groups have raised concerns about the group’s opaque structure and neutrality in the conflict that has been raging since October 2023.

According to figures issued Saturday by the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 450 people have been killed and nearly 3,500 injured by Israeli fire since GHF began distributing meal boxes in late May.

GHF has denied responsibility for deaths near its aid points, contradicting statements from witnesses and Gaza rescue services. It has said deaths have occurred near UN food convoys.