The corpse of a captive taken by Hamas in their attacks on southern Israel on October 7 was discovered by Israeli soldiers close to the biggest hospital in Gaza, the army reported on Thursday.
Yehudit Weiss was named as the deceased woman by a military official, who also said that Hamas had “murdered” her in the war-torn Palestinian territories.
“Yehudit was murdered by the terrorists in the Gaza Strip and we didn’t manage to reach her in time,” spokesman Daniel Hagari told a televised briefing.
By heavily bombarding the Gaza Strip, Israel is allegedly to blame for the deaths of captives, including Israelis, according to Hamas.
Approximately 240 persons, largely civilians, are said to have been taken prisoner during the 1,200 people that were killed by Hamas, according to Israeli officials.
Since then, more than 11,500 Palestinians have died as a result of Israel’s bombardment and ground offensive, according to Hamas government authorities. The majority of these deaths were civilians, including thousands of children.
Weiss, 65, was abducted from her home when Hamas militants invaded the Gaza border kibbutz settlement of Beeri on October 7, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
According to the Israeli group, her husband was killed in the attack. The couple had five children, four of whom were in Beeri at the time of the strike and escaped unharmed.
Early on Wednesday, Israeli special forces raided Al-Shifa hospital. According to an official, they discovered film of hostages on laptops within the institution.
Israel’s campaign on Hamas centers on the hospital, which Hamas claims has been seriously damaged by the operation.
Al-Shifa is allegedly the base of operations for Hamas, according to Israel; the Islamist movement disputes this.
The army said that “military equipment including Kalashnikov rifles and RPGs” were discovered in the same area where Weiss’s corpse was discovered.
Earlier, an Israeli official said troops were operating inside the sprawling facility, “proceeding one building at a time, searching each floor, all while hundreds of patients and medical staff remain in the complex”.
The official stated that apparatus “belonging to Hamas” and other intelligence materials had been discovered at Al-Shifa. The things that were confiscated were taken for “further examination and investigation”.
Hundreds of soldiers were part in the operation, according to an AFP journalist inside the hospital. They surrounded buildings and broke through barriers with armored bulldozers.
