Two hostages were confirmed killed in Hamas captivity on Wednesday by the communities where they lived, as the war entered its 69th day with no signs of ending despite mounting international pressure. The two victims were announced as Tal Chaimi, a resident of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, and Joshua Luito Mollel, a resident of Kibbutz Nahal Oz, reported the Jerusalem Post.
The two hostages were confirmed killed while being held captive and their bodies are still being held by Hamas. New evidence shows that Chaimi was killed on October 7 and his body was taken by Hamas to the Gaza Strip after the devastating attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel. Chaimi was part of the emergency squads assigned to hold off the Hamas offensive until reinforcements arrived.
However, the squad arrived without Chaimi or any explanation as to where Chaimi was after the fighting. He left behind a wife and three children. On the other hand, Mollel was a Tanzanian agricultural student who had arrived in Israel merely two weeks before the October 7 assault.
He was working in Nahal Oz as a dairy farmer and was working on the day when Hamas attacked Israel. Mollel's father was informed of his son's death on Wednesday after he arrived in Israel accompanied by foreign ministry representatives, according to the Center for Immigrants and Refugees.
As fighting resumed after a brief pause, a total of 116 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the ground offensive against Hamas, including high-ranking officers. Despite this, Israel has pledged to continue attacking until Hamas is completely destroyed, which has sown doubt as to whether Israeli forces can defeat the military group without wiping out Gaza.
We are continuing till the end: Netanyahu
At least 13 people were killed in the latest attack by Israel as its warplanes conducted an airstrike on the Al-Shabura refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces directed Palestinians to flee, according to reports. Two residential buildings were destroyed and several people were believed to be trapped under the rubble.
Heavy fighting has raged for days in Shijaiyah and other areas in and around eastern Gaza City that were encircled earlier in the war. Tens of thousands of people remain in the north despite repeated evacuation orders, saying they don't feel safe anywhere in Gaza
As the war enters its third month, Israel has imposed a total siege and devastated the majority of northern Gaza with a massive air and ground campaign, killing more than 18,600 Palestinians - mostly children and women - and displacing thousands. Israel's offensive has caused uneasiness among its closest ally, the United States, as President Joe Biden called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change his government.
"We are continuing until the end, there is no question. I say this even given the great pain and the international pressure. Nothing will stop us," said Netanyahu on Wednesday. This comes after Biden told the Israeli PM that he was losing international support due to "indiscriminate bombing".
Nearly 1.9 million Palestinians have been driven from their homes, with most seeking refuge in the south, even as Israel has continued to strike what it says are militant targets in all parts of the territory, often killing women and children. UN-run shelters are at breaking point and their misery is compounded by heavy rain and cold weather in the past few days.
Hamas leader mulls recognising Israel
In a surprising statement, Moussa Abu Marzouk, a prominent member of Hamas’s political bureau, on Wednesday said that the group would be opening to recognizing Israel to fall into line with the position of the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
"You should follow the official stance. The official stance is that the PLO has recognized the State of Israel," he said, referring to the agreement reached in 1993 under the Oslo Accords. It is not clear that Mazouk's position is backed by Hamas, which has always called for Israel's destruction.
Meanwhile, Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday that the group was open to negotiations to end the ongoing war with Israel, asserting that any plans for Gaza not involving Hamas are an "illusion and mirage", reported the Times of Israel.
He said Hamas is ready for talks that could lead to a “political path that secures the right of the Palestinian people to their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital”. He did not mention an Israeli state alongside Palestine, given that Hamas is committed to Israel's destruction.
Rising support for Hamas
If Israel had hoped that the war would turn Palestinians against Hamas and hasten its demise, a poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research showed the exact opposite. At least 44% of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and 42% from Gaza support the militant group, an increase from three months ago.
Even if the numbers are minorities in both territories, many Palestinians who do not share Hamas' commitment to destroying Israel and oppose its attacks on civilians see it as resisting Israel's decades-old occupation of lands they want for a future state.
Conversely, there is an overwhelming rejection of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, with nearly 90% of Palestinians saying he must resign. Most Palestinians see his regime as corrupt and autocratic as it works with Israel to suppress Hamas and other militant groups.
Hamas seized power from the Palestinian Authority in Gaza in 2007. Although the US wants PA to govern post-war Gaza, Netanyahu's government is firmly opposed to Palestinian statehood and has said it will maintain open-ended security control over the Strip.
(with agency inputs)
