Israel Recovers Bodies of Six Hostages in Gaza

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Israel’s latest hostage operation, violence against medical professionals in India, and Nicaragua banning more than a thousand civil society organizations.

Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.

Hostage Release Talks

The Israeli military recovered the bodies of six hostages in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Tuesday. According to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the bodies were retrieved during a “complex operation” into Hamas-built tunnels beneath the city. Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine identified the captives as Yagev Buchshtav, 35; Nadav Popplewell, 51; Alexander Dancyg, 76; Avraham Munder, 79; Yoram Metzger, 80; and Chaim Perry, 80.

It is unclear how or when the hostages died; however, Hamas officials have accused Israel of killing some of the captives during previous strikes on Gaza. Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari acknowledged in June that four hostages—including Perry, Metzger, and Popplewell—were believed to have been killed while Israeli forces were operating in the area.

“Our hearts grieve over the terrible loss,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday. All six hostages were taken during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel; four of them were kidnapped from Nir Oz, a kibbutz less than two miles from the Gaza border, and the other two were taken from their homes in Nirim, another kibbutz also located close to Gaza.

Of the roughly 250 hostages initially kidnapped, Israeli troops have rescued only seven captives alive, with one such mission in June killing more than 200 Palestinians in the area, according to local officials. Around 109 captives were returned to Israel alive, primarily via exchanges with Hamas. More than 100 hostages are believed to still be in Gaza, according to Amnesty International. Israeli authorities believe that at least a third of those are dead.

“Israel has a moral and ethical obligation to return all the murdered for dignified burial and to bring all living hostages home for rehabilitation,” the Hostage Families Forum said in a statement on Tuesday. “The Israeli government, with the assistance of mediators, must do everything in its power to finalize the deal currently on the table.”

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told local media on Tuesday that cease-fire and hostage release negotiations will resume in Cairo on Thursday and Friday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Netanyahu has accepted a “bridging proposal” that includes a six-week truce, Israeli hostages being exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, and Israeli troops withdrawing from major population centers in Gaza.

It is unclear whether the deal’s latest version includes the new conditions that Netanyahu allegedly added to appease his far-right coalition partners, such as continued Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor. Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel will not leave the corridor—a narrow strip of land between Gaza and Egypt—“under any circumstances” and that he was “not sure there will be a deal.” Hamas has yet to formally accept the deal.

“This is a decisive moment—probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a cease-fire, and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,” Blinken said on Monday. He flew to Egypt on Tuesday to continue negotiation efforts.

Today’s Most Read

What We’re Following

Health care task force. India’s Supreme Court established a national task force of doctors on Tuesday to address safety concerns for medical professionals. The panel’s creation comes after a woman doctor in training was raped and killed in Kolkata on Aug. 9, sparking mass nationwide protests and doctors’ strikes calling for workplace protections and legal justice.

The attack also renewed calls to address rising rates of gender-based violence; there was a 20 percent increase in reported rapes in 2022 compared to 2021, according to India’s National Crime Records Bureau.

“Protecting safety of doctors and women doctors is a matter of national interest and principle of equality,” Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud said. “The nation cannot await another rape for it to take some steps.” Authorities have charged a police volunteer with the crime, but the victim’s family believes it was a gang rape. The court ordered investigators to submit a status report on the case by Thursday.

Revoked legal status. The Nicaraguan government banned 1,500 nongovernmental organizations on Monday as part of its latest crackdown against civil society groups. The Nicaraguan Red Cross and several Catholic charities were among those barred, as well as some sports associations, chess clubs, and private universities. The Interior Ministry claimed that the organizations had failed to disclose financial information, including donations.

President Daniel Ortega increased crackdowns on perceived threats to his administration after deadly anti-government protests broke out in 2018. Since then, authorities have shuttered more than 5,000 civil society groups, media outlets, and private universities. And more than 300 politicians, journalists, and activists were expelled last year due to alleged treason. Last week, Managua also passed a law requiring nonprofits to exclusively work in “partnership alliances” with state entities.

Iranian hackers. U.S. intelligence officials concluded on Monday that the Iranian government was responsible for cyberattacks against former U.S. President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. The FBI also accused Tehran of unsuccessfully targeting Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.

Earlier this month, an anonymous account identified only as “Robert” sent Politico emails containing internal Trump campaign documents, including information on Trump’s then-yet-to-be-declared running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance. Microsoft went on to accuse hackers with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of sending phishing emails to a high-ranking campaign official.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations called the allegations “unsubstantiated and devoid of any standing,” adding that Tehran has no motive nor intention of interfering in the United States’ presidential election in November.

Odds and Ends

The Indian Express might be wishing it had FP’s esteemed copy editors right about now. On Monday, the English-language daily newspaper published an article by Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa on her first visit to India while in office. But in a glaring spelling mistake, the byline read “Yoko Kamikaze” instead. This was not the first time that New Delhi’s media has misspelled a foreign politician’s name. In 2016, an Indian TV anchor was fired after referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping has “Eleven” Jinping, confusing his name with the Roman numerals. Big yikes.

The post Israel Recovers Bodies of Six Hostages in Gaza appeared first on Foreign Policy.