Israel-Hamas war: Bodies of two hostages retrieved

The bodies of two Israeli hostages have been recovered from Gaza, as the White House dodged questions for a two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Follow updates.

Israeli forces have retrieved the bodies of two hostages from the Gaza Strip.

A military statement said a joint operation by the army and the Shin Bet security agency recovered the bodies of Yair Yaakov and “an additional hostage whose name has not yet been cleared for publication” from the Khan Yunis area of southern Gaza.

Yaakov, a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz, was 59 when he was seized in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and killed the same day.

Yaakov was abducted along with his partner Meirav Tal, as they sheltered in their safe room in Nir Oz.

She was freed on November 28, 2023 during the first truce.

The body of Israeli hostage Yair Yaakov has been retrieved. Picture: AP

Abducted separately at the home of their mother, Yair’s two children Yagil and Or were also released on November 27 during the first truce.

Nir Oz was one of the communities hit hardest by the attack, with nearly a quarter of its residents killed or taken hostage.

“Along with all the citizens of Israel, my wife and I extend our deepest condolences to the families who have lost their most precious loved ones,” Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

“We will not rest and we will not be silent until all our hostages – the living and the fallen alike – are brought home.”

Before the latest announcement, out of 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack, 54 were still held in Gaza including 32 the Israeli military said were dead.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the retaliatory Israeli military offensive has killed at least 55,104 people, the majority civilians. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable

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WHITE HOUSE DODGES QUESTION ON TWO-STATE SOLUTION

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has dodged questions about whether the Trump administration has abandoned support for a two-state solution, after US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee suggested as much.

The two-state solution proposes creating two states on the territory: Israel for the Jewish people and Palestine for the Palestinian people.

Instead, she stressed President Trump’s top priority is ending the war in Gaza and securing the release of hostages.

Mr Trump “views the situation in Israel and Gaza as deeply unfortunate and needing to end,” Leavitt says during a press briefing.

“The president is realistic about the current state of affairs in this region.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a briefing at the White House. Picture: AP

“That’s why the president has said that the number one focus and priority of this administration is to release all of the hostages from Gaza and to end this conflict as soon as possible.”

Mr Trump reportedly urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to back both a temporary truce and a permanent ceasefire during a call earlier this week — a message echoed in recent White House comments.

But critics warn Israel’s ongoing military campaign lacks a clear endgame and could endanger remaining hostages, accusing Mr Netanyahu of dragging out the war to hold his fragile coalition together.

THUNBERG HITS OUT AFTER ISRAEL DEPORTATION

Activist Greta Thunberg arrived home in Sweden after she was detained alongside 11 other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat.

Israel deported the 22-year-old campaigner on a flight to Sweden via France on Tuesday local time.

Of the 12 activists on board the Madleen, which was carrying food and supplies for Gaza, four including Thunberg agreed to be deported immediately, legal centre Adalah which represents some of the activists said in a statement.

Greta Thunberg is greeted on arrival at Stockholm-Arlanda airport, on the outskirts of Stockholm. Picture: AFP

The remaining eight were taken into custody after they refused to leave Israel voluntarily, and brought before a detention review tribunal on Tuesday, the legal group said.

“The state asked the tribunal to keep the activists in custody until their deportation”, they said, adding that under Israeli law, individuals under deportation orders can be held for 72 hours before forcible removal.

Adalah also revealed all of the activists have been banned from Israel for 100 years.

Israeli forces intercepted the boat, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, in international waters on Monday and towed it to the port of Ashdod.

They then transferred them to Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, the foreign ministry said, from where Thunberg flew to France ahead of a scheduled flight to Sweden.

Israel deported Greta Thunberg to Sweden via France. Picture: AFP

On arrival at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, 22-year-old Thunberg accused Israel of “kidnapping us in international waters and taking us against our will to Israel”.

“This is yet another intentional violation of rights that is added to the list of countless other violations that Israel is committing,” she said.

“We were 12 peaceful volunteers sailing on a civilian ship carrying humanitarian aid on international waters.

“We did not break laws. We did nothing wrong.”

Four French activists who were also aboard the Madleen were set to face an Israeli judge, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.

He had earlier posted on X that five would face court action and only one would depart voluntarily.

On arrival at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, 22-year-old Thunberg accused Israel of “kidnapping us in international waters and taking us against our will”. Picture: AFP

Barrot told reporters that French diplomats had met with the six French nationals in Israel, and that French-Palestinian European MP Rima Hassan was among those who refused to leave voluntarily.

The activists, from France, Germany, Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands, aimed to deliver humanitarian aid and break the Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory.

In what organisers called a “symbolic act”, hundreds of participants in a land convoy crossed the border into Libya from Tunisia with the aim of reaching Gaza, whose entire population the UN has warned is at risk of famine.

– with AFP

Originally published as Israel-Hamas war: Bodies of two hostages retrieved