JERUSALEM - Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that the military will continue to strike Hamas and destroy tunnels within the "Yellow Line," a demarcation marking areas where Israeli forces remain deployed in Gaza, "without any limitations."
"Israel's policy in Gaza is clear: the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is operating to destroy the tunnels and eliminate Hamas terrorists without any limitations within the yellow area under our control," Katz wrote on social media platform X.
He added that Israel's main objective, along with recovering the bodies of seven deceased hostages still held in the enclave, is "to disarm Hamas and demilitarize Gaza."
His remarks came as about 200 Hamas fighters were reportedly trapped in underground tunnels in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city. An Israeli government official said Monday that Israel had rejected a request by mediators to allow the militants safe passage to an area outside Israeli control.
Under the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, the first phase of the truce in Gaza includes partial Israeli troop withdrawals, the exchange of hostages and prisoners, and a significant increase in aid deliveries to the enclave.
Since the ceasefire came into effect on Oct 10, Hamas has released 20 living Israeli captives and handed over 20 bodies, while Israel has released 250 Palestinian prisoners serving long sentences and 1,718 prisoners arrested in Gaza after Oct 7, 2023.
While the ceasefire has sharply reduced Israeli attacks, smaller-scale strikes have continued almost daily in Gaza. At least 240 Palestinians have been killed and 607 others wounded by Israeli fire since Oct. 11, according to Gaza's health authorities, bringing the total death toll from Israeli strikes since October 2023 to nearly 70,000.
Body hand-over
A body handed over by Hamas was identified as that of a US-Israeli soldier who served in the Israeli army and was abducted during the group's October 2023 assault, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said on Wednesday.
In a statement, the office said the remains were those of Itay Chen. The military said Chen, 19, served as a combat soldier in the 77th Battalion of the 7th Brigade near the Gaza border. He was killed during the surprise attack and his body was taken into Gaza.
Hamas handed over his body to Israeli forces through the Red Cross in Gaza, as part of an exchange under the ongoing ceasefire.
Earlier on Tuesday, Hamas said it had found the body of an Israeli soldier who had been held hostage in Gaza. The group said the remains were discovered in Shuja'iyya, an eastern neighborhood of Gaza City still under Israeli control, after Israel allowed access to the site for Hamas and Red Cross teams.
Before the latest handover, Hamas had returned the remains of 20 hostages to Israel under the current ceasefire.
ALSO READ: Palestinian PM says Gaza reconstruction plan sent to international partners
Meanwhile, Israel said Wednesday it had received the body of another hostage from Hamas through the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip.
The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that a coffin containing the remains was transferred from the enclave after being handed over by Red Cross teams and would be taken for identification at the national forensic institute in Tel Aviv.
Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades confirmed it had delivered the body of "an Israeli captive" found in Gaza City's Shujaiya neighborhood. The handover was part of an ongoing exchange under the current cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
Before Wednesday's transfer, Hamas had returned the remains of 21 hostages under the truce. If the latest remains are confirmed, six bodies would still be held in Gaza -- four Israelis, one Tanzanian, and one Thai national, Israeli officials said.
Earlier Wednesday, Gaza's health authorities said it had received 15 additional Palestinian bodies from Israel through the Red Cross, bringing the total number of returned bodies to 285. Medical teams have identified 84 of them so far.
