Gaza violence continues as Israel disputes earlier remains handover

Israeli fire killed two Palestinians in Gaza City on Wednesday, while a new Israeli remains recovery operation was reported in northern Gaza, hours after Israel declared that bodies received a day earlier were not those of the two remaining hostages, according to Xinhua.

In the Zeitoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, Jalal Obeid, 46, and Abdel Amarin, 35, were killed by Israeli army fire, Palestinian medical sources said.

Hamas accused Israel of continuously violating the ceasefire agreement by "targeting shelters and camps for displaced persons" beyond the "yellow line," which designates areas under Israeli control in Gaza.

Separately on Wednesday, Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a press statement that its fighters, along with Islamic Jihad, recovered remains in northern Gaza believed to be of an Israeli captive, and will hand over at 5:00 p.m. local time.

It came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Office said earlier Wednesday that forensic tests on remains handed over via the International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday confirmed they were not linked to either of the two hostages still held in Gaza, an Israeli police officer named Ran Gvili and a Thai citizen named Sudthisak Rinthalak.

"The effort to bring them home will not cease until the mission is completed," the office said in a statement.

Under the current ceasefire, which began on Oct. 10, Hamas is required to release 20 living captives and the bodies of 28 deceased hostages. All living hostages were freed early in the truce, but the return of bodies has been slow, with Hamas saying rubble and destruction have hindered searches.

In return, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinians from its prisons and returned the bodies of hundreds of deceased Palestinians.

At least 360 Palestinians have been killed and 922 others injured by Israeli attacks since Oct. 11, Gaza's health authorities said Wednesday, bringing the overall death toll from Israeli attacks since October 2023 to 70,117, with 170,999 others injured