With a night blitz, the Israeli military and special forces recovered the bodies of three hostages in the Gaza Strip. Among them there is also Shani Louk, the 22-year-old German-Israeli kidnapped at the ‘Nova Festival’ and whose images portraying her inert on a Hamas pickup had gone around the world. The others are Itzhak Gelerenter and Amit Buskila. “It was the news I had been waiting for since October 7th”, commented Nissim Louk, the girl’s father. The family had already been informed of the death some time ago. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “heartbroken” by the news but, at the same time, said all hostages “dead and alive” would be brought home. An objective that inevitably involves an expansion of the operation underway in Rafah. In this regard, for the first time, a senior official of the Israeli negotiating team, although speaking anonymously, underlined how the possible entry of forces into Rafah would put the lives of the hostages “at risk”.
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Italy and 12 other countries expressed their opinion in a letter sent to the Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, against Netanyahu’s repeatedly reiterated desire to advance into the city on the border with Egypt. The document reiterated “disdain for the brutal terrorist attack conducted by Hamas” but also opposition to an operation in Rafah. “In exercising its right to defense – we read – Israel must fully respect international law, including humanitarian law” and “in light of the devastating and growing humanitarian crisis throughout Gaza” we ask for “urgent action to address it” . The first shipment of aid has arrived in the Strip via the floating dock built by the United States. This is the first step of an operation which, according to US army forecasts, could lead to the entry of 150 trucks a day into Gaza.
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The EU also sent a new shipment of aid from Cyprus by sea. Meanwhile, concern is growing in Europe over the wave of anti-Semitism triggered after the Israeli reaction to the Hamas attack on 7 October. In Rouen, France, police killed a man armed with a knife who wanted to set fire to a synagogue with a Molotov cocktail. The perpetrator of the action, upon seeing the police, would have thrown himself against them, leading to the reaction of an officer who opened fire on him. In Stockholm, however, on the night between Thursday and Friday there was a shooting in the area where the Israeli embassy is located. It is not clear whether the incident is linked to a potential attack on the building but the police said they had arrested a suspect aged just 14.
