The Israeli Army found the body of an Israeli hostage in a building next to the Al Shifa hospital from the city of Loopwhere Israel says the Islamist group’s main military infrastructure is located Hamasas announced this Thursday.
The body found was identified as that of Yehudit Weiss65-year-old woman kidnapped on October 7 by Palestinian militiamen in the Kibbutz BeeriIsraeli community next to Loopreported a military spokesman, who explained that his body “was removed by Israeli troops from an adjacent structure” to the medical center Al Shifa and later transferred to Israel.
The discovery of his body is the first to be made in Gaza City – the place where it was found is its center – and they are also the first mortal remains of a captive that Israel finds in areas further into the coastal enclave after 41 days of war
According to the Army, the identification of Weiss’s body was made as part of a process carried out by military medical personnel and the Rabbinate next to Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Israel Policewho this Thursday informed their relatives.
In their attack on Israel on October 7, the Gaza militias took more than 240 captives to the Strip, including the elderly, minors and foreigners, and as the Army highlighted today, their “national task” now “is to locate the missing and return the kidnapped to their homes”.
According to him, Weiss’s body was found next to military equipment, “included kalashnikov rifles”, which suggests that she would have been guarded by militiamen in the same place of captivity.
The Army did not provide more information about the cause of the captive’s death, nor did it say whether she died in the midst of fighting or bombing in the area, where there have been heavy clashes in recent weeks.
According to the Israeli press, Weiss was a mother of five children and was receiving medical treatment for breast cancer. The day of the attack Hamas was at his home in Kibbutz Beri when she was taken captive, while her husband, Shmulik Weisswas found murdered.
The discovery of the body occurs while Israeli forces carry out an operation “precise and selective” for the second day at a nearby point, the Al Shifa hospitalthe largest on the Strip.
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According to Israel, Hamas hides what would be its main military center in the enclave in the same medical facility and surroundings.
Yesterday, Israeli forces announced the discovery of weapons, some vests from the Al Qasam Brigades -armed arm of Hamas- or a laptop with information and images of hostages in a room at the Al Shifa hospital, although for now it has not revealed the presence of tunnels and an alleged underground military network.
For their part, the medical center staff insists that there were no militiamen or military activity on the premises throughout the war.
