Israel launches new offensive in Gaza, says remains of 2 hostages returned – National

Gaza City is now a dangerous combat zone, Israel says, adding that it is in the “initial stages” of a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.

Israel’s military said it suspended midday pauses to fighting, which had allowed food and aid supplies to enter from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Gaza’s largest city.

It also said it had recovered the body of a hostage and the remains of another, and vowed its military offensive would return more.

The shift comes weeks after Israel first announced plans to widen its offensive in Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering and enduring famine.

2:03
Israel’s military warns Palestinians that Gaza City evacuation is ‘inevitable’

Father of hostage calls recovery operation a ‘bittersweet moment’
Israel’s recovery of more hostages Friday felt like a “stab in the stomach” for Rubi Chen, who believes his son is still in captivity in Gaza.

Israel said it had returned the body of one captive and the remains of another from Gaza Friday. It identified one as Ilan Weiss, a man killed in the initial Hamas attack.

“It’s a bittersweet moment that the Weiss family is reunited with their loved one, even though he’s coming back not as they would have wanted,” said Chen. “But at least they have closure … there are still 49 families waiting to have that closure.”

Chen said his family has received intelligence that his son did not survive the Oct. 7 attack but Hamas has not provided any information about his son’s whereabouts.

The Israeli prime minister said the body of a dead Israeli and the remains of another were recovered following an operation in the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces and the country’s internal security service Shin Bet.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Netanyahu said Friday one set of remains belongs to Ilan Weiss who was killed on Oct. 7, 2023 while defending Kibbutz Be’eri against attacking Hamas gunmen.

The remains of the second Israeli are now being examined for positive identification at the Institute of Forensic Medicine.

Weiss’ wife Shiri and daughter Noga, also kidnapped in the Hamas attack, were released from captivity in November 2023.

He has two other daughters.

The Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the return of all hostages remains the “highest national priority” and urged the Israeli government to enter into negotiations “and stay at the table until every last hostage comes home.”

A spokesman for the Israeli military says the country’s forces have started their attack on Gaza City which are operating “with great force” on the city’s outskirts.

Avichay Adraee, the Arabic-speaking spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces, posted on X Friday that the military operation is in its initial phase, but that the Israeli military will “intensify our strikes” and “will not hesitate” until all Israeli hostages are returned and Hamas is dismantled “militarily and politically.”

Adraee said Israel is “not waiting” and is moving ahead with its attack against Hamas which has “transformed from a military organization into a defeated organization waging guerrilla warfare.”

The U.N.’s humanitarian agency said they were “deeply concerned” by the military’s statement that it would intensify its operation in Gaza City.

It predicted that the offensive would have a “horrific impact on people already exhausted, malnourished, bereaved, displaced, and deprived of basics needed for survival.”

It said UN and NGO teams would remain on the ground in Gaza City to provide life-saving support but maintained that its work would need to be facilitated.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the body of Ilan Weiss of Kibbutz Be’eri and the remains of another unnamed hostage were returned to Israel.

“The campaign to return the hostages continues continuously. We will not rest or be silent until we return all of our hostages home — both the living and the dead,” Netanyahu said.

Israel on Friday said its military had recovered the bodies of two hostages, including an Israeli man who was killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war.

Of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants almost 22 months ago, roughly 50 remain in Gaza including 20 that Israel believes to be alive.

2:09
U.S., Israeli officials hold Gaza ceasefire talks

Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone and said it was in the ″initial stages″ of a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.

The suspension comes weeks after Israel first announced plans to widen its offensive in Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering and enduring famine.

A spokesman for Gaza’s only Catholic church said some 440 people who have taken shelter there had unanimously agreed to stay, despite word that Israel was preparing to mount a new military offensive in the Palestinian territory.

Farid Jubran told The Associated Press Friday that their decision to stay in Gaza City’s Holy Family Catholic Church was made of their own free will and “wasn’t imposed on the people.”

He said five clergy have also stayed in the church to assist those sheltering that include women, children and older people.

But Jubran, who is currently outside of Gaza, said it’s “up to them” if they want to leave the church at some point later.

The spokesman said there are no additional measures that have been taken inside the church to bolster the safety of the people.

He said “when we feel danger, people get closer to the walls or whatever, it’s more protected” but that the church “doesn’t have any specific defenses.”

&copy 2025 The Canadian Press