Israeli military finds bodies of three hostages in Gaza

Jerusalem, May 17

Israeli military says its troops in Gaza found the bodies of three Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during its October 7 attack, including German-Israeli Shani Louk.

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Gaza: Aid deliveries began arriving at a US-built pier off the Gaza Strip on Friday as Israel comes under growing global pressure to allow more supplies into the besieged coastal enclave. Britain said on Friday it had delivered its first aid shipment via the pier.

Shooting near Israeli embassy in Stockholm

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• The Swedish police launched an investigation and stepped up security around Israeli and Jewish interests in the country after a patrol heard suspected gunshots near Israel’s embassy in Stockholm early on Friday, they said
• The steps were taken after a number of incidents, including the suspected gunshots, on Friday, and included more a visible police presence in certain locations
• It remained unclear whether there was a link between the suspected gunshots and the Israeli embassy, they added. Police held several people in connection with the incident

A photo of the 22-year-old Shani’s twisted body in the back of a pickup truck ricocheted around the world and brought to light the scale of the militants’ attack on communities in southern Israel.

The military identified the other two bodies found as those of a 28-year-old woman, Amit Buskila, and a 56-year-old man, Itzhak Gelerenter. Military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said all three were killed by Hamas at the Nova music festival, an outdoor dance party near the Gaza border, and their bodies taken into the Palestinian territory.

The military did not give immediate details on where their bodies were found.

Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and abducted around 250 others in the October 7 attack. Around half of those have since been freed, most in swaps for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel during a weeklong cease-fire in November. Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more. Israel’s campaign in Gaza since the attack has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. — AP