The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recovered the bodies of three hostages in the Gaza Strip, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a news conference in Tel Aviv Friday.
The hostages were identified as Shani Louk, Amit Bouskila, and Itshak Gelernter, Hagari said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed grief over the hostages, saying “the heart breaks for the great loss.” Louk’s family said they have closure now that her body has been recovered.
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Developments on the ground
Hamas’ military wing Al Qassam Brigades said a commander was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon’s West Bekaa area, near the Syrian border, on Friday.
Also, the IDF said it carried out an airstrike on “an operations center” in Jenin, in the West Bank, Friday and killed “a significant wanted” militant.
Humanitarian aid
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza began moving ashore Friday via a temporary pier built by the US military, according to a statement from US Central Command (CENTCOM). The pier was anchored to a beach in Gaza on Thursday and will be used to funnel aid from various countries into the besieged strip, with most border crossings to the enclave closed and a catastrophic humanitarian disaster unfolding inside.
Official meetings
US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan will travel to Saudi Arabia and Israel over the weekend, according to a US official, as ceasefire and hostage negotiations have stalled and Israel continues to threaten to intensify its military operations in Rafah. He will meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in their respective countries, according to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings were major gateways for Gaza aid before closures
The Rafah crossing, which previously accounted for nearly a quarter of truck entries, was closed for aid delivery on May 5 and remains shut as Israeli forces have seized the Palestinian side. Israel closed Kerem Shalom after a Hamas rocket attack in the area, but announced its reopening three days later. The latest United Nations data shows no trucks passed the crossing until May 11, when six humanitarian trucks carrying flour arrived in Gaza.
Calls from the United Nations
A panel of UN experts said Friday that the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was “politically targeted” as it voiced disappointment over some countries not reinstating their funding weeks after an independent review cleared the agency.
Doctors leaving Gaza
Seventeen of the 20 American doctors who were stuck in Gaza after Israel shut the border crossing from Rafah to Egypt have safely departed the enclave, Kirby said Friday.
Aid organizations will face challenges getting doctors back into Gaza following the departure of the American doctors, according to sources familiar with the efforts to help the doctors escape.
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