Israel said it had retrieved the body of Nattapong Pinta, who was abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war. He had come to Israel to work in agriculture.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the government was arming factions in the Gaza Strip to combat Hamas, after accusations from an opposition politician.
The bodies of Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, an Israeli who held U.S. and Canadian citizenship, and her husband, Gad Haggai, 72, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, were recovered, the country's military said.
While the militant group says it will release 10 living and 18 deceased hostages still held in Gaza, there appear to be other details that need to be worked out before a ceasefire is declared.
Food aid is moldering in warehouses in Jordan, the main hub for humanitarian aid to Gaza. Other foods and medicines are loaded on trucks that have waited for months at Israeli border crossings.
Speaking on Wednesday in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, Netanyahu said that Sinwar was killed in an Israeli airstrike, but did not provide specifics.
In an interview with NPR, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said the U.K., Canada and France were "blaming the wrong perpetrator," and that Hamas is responsible for the suffering in Gaza.
Pressure from close allies is mounting on Israel following a nearly three-month blockade of supplies into Gaza. Even the United States has voiced concerns over the hunger crisis.
Israel and Hamas have entered the most substantive negotiations in months in Qatar. The talks come amid intense Israeli airstrikes that have killed more than 500 Palestinians in the past five days.
President Trump is visiting Qatar and the U.A.E. after inking big weapons and tech deals in Saudi Arabia. So far, his trip hasn't seemed to push forward chances for a ceasefire in Gaza.
It was the second night of heavy bombing, after airstrikes Wednesday on northern and southern Gaza killed dozens of people, including almost two dozen children.
Edan Alexander, an Israeli soldier raised in New Jersey, is believed to be the last living U.S. citizen captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Four other Americans' bodies are still held in Gaza.
