Israel finds the body of a hostage killed in Gaza, while talks will resume on a cease-fire
LA TimesPeople in Tel Aviv protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s military said Saturday it had recovered the body of a 47-year-old farmer who was held hostage in Gaza, while negotiators prepared to begin another round of talks Sunday on brokering a cease-fire and securing the release of the remaining hostages, six months into the war. “We have arrived at a terrible milestone,” the U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said in a statement marking six months and noting “the immediate prospect of a shameful man-made famine.” He called the prospect of further escalation in Gaza “unconscionable.” Cease-fire negotiations will resume Sunday, according to an Egyptian official and Egypt’s state-owned Al Qahera TV. The U.N. said it finally gained access to Gaza’s largest hospital, Shifa, following a days-long Israeli raid and found what the head of the World Health Organization called “an empty shell,” with most buildings destroyed. The WHO said the destruction of Shifa and the main hospital in southern Gaza, Nasser, “has broken the backbone of the already ailing health system.” Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah now holds more than half of the territory’s 2.3 million people, and Israel’s vow to carry out a ground offensive there has caused weeks of dread and warnings even from Israel’s top ally, the United States.