Forty-five individuals have lost their lives due to Israeli attacks on Gaza, according to local medics, as Israel reported recovering the body of a Thai hostage who had been in captivity since Hamas’s assault on October 7, 2023.
Local health authorities indicated that at least 15 Palestinians were killed and 50 others wounded by airstrikes in the Sabra district of Gaza City, located in northern Gaza.
Multiple missiles struck the area.
The apparent target was a multi-story residential building, but the explosion also affected several nearby homes, as reported by witnesses and media sources.
In a related development, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that the Israeli military has recovered the body of Thai hostage Nattapong Pinta, who had been held in Gaza since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
According to Mr. Katz, Mr. Pinta’s remains were retrieved from Rafah in southern Gaza, where they had been held by a Palestinian militant group named the Mujahedeen Brigades.
Mr. Pinta, an agricultural worker, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small community close to the border, where one in four residents was either killed or abducted during the Hamas-led assault in 2023.
The Israeli military claims that Mr. Pinta was taken alive but later killed by his captors, who also reportedly killed and transported the bodies of two additional Israeli-American hostages recovered this week.
The military’s statement indicated that Mr. Pinta’s family and Thai officials were informed about the operation to recover his remains.
According to reports from the Nir Oz community, 117 residents perished, and over 60% of its homes were destroyed during the attack.
The body of Nattapong Pinta, shown here with his family, was recovered from Gaza, as reported by Israel.
This situation unfolds as the United Nations warns that a majority of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million is at risk of famine following an 11-week blockade, with the occurrence of acute malnutrition among young children nearly tripling.
Aid distribution was halted yesterday after the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation declared that overcrowding made operations unsafe.
It remains uncertain whether aid has resumed.
On Wednesday, the GHF suspended its activities, asking the Israeli military to reevaluate security protocols after Palestinian hospital officials reported over 80 fatalities and hundreds injured near distribution centers between June 1-3.
Since the end of May, the GHF has been distributing food packages in Gaza, but the UN states this new model of aid distribution lacks impartiality and neutrality. The foundation claims to have delivered approximately 9 million meals to date.
Israel is facing increasing international scrutiny regarding its actions against Hamas, which have led to a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the displacement of most of the population.
Families of remaining hostages are concerned that those still alive may be at risk from ongoing Israeli operations, while those deceased may be lost forever.
Over 40 hostages have been reported killed while in captivity, some due to Israeli strikes and others at the hands of their captors.
The rubble of destroyed houses in Gaza City.
Netanyahu acknowledges Israel’s support for armed groups in Gaza.
In a separate matter, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel is backing an armed group in Gaza that opposes Hamas, following statements by a former minister alleging that Israel had supplied weapons to it.
Reports from Israeli and Palestinian media suggest that the group receiving support is associated with a local Bedouin tribe led by Yasser Abu Shabab.
The European Council on Foreign Relations (EFCR) think tank describes Abu Shabab as the head of a “criminal gang operating in Rafah, widely accused of looting aid trucks.”
Former defence minister and Knesset member Avigdor Lieberman claimed on the Kan public broadcaster that the government, under Mr. Netanyahu’s direction, was “providing weapons to a group of criminals and felons.”
“What did Lieberman reveal? … That based on advice from security officials, we engaged clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas. What’s wrong with that?” Mr. Netanyahu stated in a video shared on social media on Thursday.
“It’s beneficial; it saves Israeli soldiers’ lives.”
Read more: ‘We do not fear them’ – flotilla activists en route to Gaza.
Michael Milshtein, a Palestinian affairs expert at the Moshe Dayan Center in Tel Aviv, remarked that the Abu Shabab clan is part of a Bedouin tribe straddling the border between Gaza and Egypt’s Sinai peninsula.
He noted that some members of the tribe were involved in “various criminal activities, including drug smuggling.”
Israeli army spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin confirmed that the military supports arming local militias in Gaza but provided no further details.
“I can confirm that we are taking various actions against Hamas governance,” Mr. Defrin mentioned during a televised press conference when queried on the topic, without elaborating.
