Israel recovers the remains of 3 more hostages from Gaza

TEL AVIV — The Israeli military said Sunday that it has recovered the remains of three hostages held in the Gaza Strip, while at least four Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike and 22 wounded while waiting for humanitarian aid, according to a local hospital.

The military identified the remains as those of Yonatan Samerano, 21; Ofra Keidar, 70; and Shay Levinson, 19. All three were killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel that ignited the ongoing war. The militant group is still holding 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive.

The military did not provide any details about the recovery operation, and it was unclear whether the airstrike was related.

“The campaign to return the hostages continues consistently and is happening alongside the campaign against Iran,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

Kobi Samerano said in a Facebook post that his son’s remains were returned on what would have been his 23rd birthday.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7 attack. More than half the hostages have been returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals, eight have been rescued alive, and Israeli forces have recovered dozens of bodies.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which has said that women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

Four people were killed Sunday in an airstrike in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al Awda Hospital, where the bodies were brought. It said 22 other people were wounded while waiting for aid trucks.

Palestinian witnesses and health officials say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on crowds seeking desperately needed food, killing hundreds of people in recent weeks. The military says it has fired warning shots at people it said approached its forces in a suspicious manner.

Separately, World Central Kitchen, the charity run by celebrity chef José Andrés, said it had resumed the distribution of hot meals in Gaza for the first time in six weeks after shutting down because of Israel’s blockade, which was loosened last month amid international outcry over fears of famine.

The Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s offensive ignited a chain of events leading to Israel’s surprise attack on Iran on June 13. The United States entered the war early Sunday with attacks on three Iranian nuclear sites.

The Hostages Families Forum, the main organization representing families of the hostages, has repeatedly called for a deal to release the remaining captives.

“Particularly against the backdrop of current military developments and the significant achievements in Iran, we want to emphasize that bringing back the remaining 50 hostages is the key to achieving any sort of victory,” it said in a statement Sunday.

Hamas has said it will release the remaining hostages only in return for more Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Netanyahu has rejected those terms, saying Israel will continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile. Even then, he has said Israel will maintain lasting control over Gaza and facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population, plans the Palestinians and others view as forcible expulsion and therefore a violation of international law.

The United States, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to broker a new ceasefire and hostage release after Israel ended a truce in March with a surprise wave of airstrikes. Those talks appear to have made little progress as Israel has expanded its air and ground offensive.

Goldenberg and Magdy write for the Associated Press and reported from Tel Aviv and Cairo.