Israel Launches Airstrike in S. Gaza   12/04 06:00

   Israel said it launched an airstrike on a Hamas militant in southern Gaza 
late Wednesday in retaliation for an attack earlier in the day that wounded 
five Israeli soldiers.

   JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel said it launched an airstrike on a Hamas militant 
in southern Gaza late Wednesday in retaliation for an attack earlier in the day 
that wounded five Israeli soldiers.

   The strike was the latest test for a fragile ceasefire that has mostly held 
up since early October, despite claims of violations by both Israel and Hamas. 
Hamas put out a statement condemning the Israeli strike in Khan Younis.

   Earlier Wednesday, Israel received remains of what could be one of the last 
hostages in Gaza and said it would begin allowing Palestinians to leave the 
territory through a border crossing with Egypt.

   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas violated the ceasefire 
Wednesday when, according to the army, militants emerged from a tunnel and 
attacked Israeli soldiers in an area under their control.

   Israel has accused Hamas of ceasefire violations before launching previous 
airstrikes. Strikes killed 104 people in late October and 33 people in late 
November, according to local health officials.

   The remains found Wednesday by militants in northern Gaza were returned to 
Israel, where they were being examined by forensics experts. Remains militants 
handed over Tuesday did not match either of the last two hostages.

   The return of all the hostages taken on the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that 
started the war is a key element of the first phase of the ceasefire that began 
in October. In exchange, Israel has been releasing Palestinian prisoners.

   Last hostages in Gaza are an Israeli and Thai national

   Once the last hostages' remains are returned and Israel releases more 
Palestinian prisoners in exchange, the U.S.-backed ceasefire plan is supposed 
to advance to the next phases, which call for creating an international 
stabilization force, forming a technocratic Palestinian government and 
disarming Hamas.

   Earlier Wednesday, Netanyahu said forensic testing showed that partial 
remains returned by militants Tuesday did not match either of the hostages 
still in Gaza. Palestinian militants later said they had found more remains in 
northern Gaza and turned them over to the Red Cross, which is acting as an 
intermediary.

   The two remaining bodies of hostages taken into Gaza are Israeli Ran Gvili 
and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak. Gvili was an Israeli police officer who 
helped people escape from the Nova music festival during the Oct. 7 attack and 
was killed fighting at another location. Sudthisak Rinthalak was an 
agricultural worker from Thailand who had been employed at Kibbutz Be'eri, one 
of the hardest-hit communities in the attack.

   A total of 31 workers from Thailand were abducted, the largest group of 
foreigners to be held in captivity. Most of them were released in the first and 
second ceasefires. The Thai Foreign Ministry has said in addition to the 
hostages, 46 Thais have been killed during the war.

   Opening of Rafah crossing complicated by dispute

   Under the terms of the ceasefire, the long-closed Rafah crossing is to be 
opened for medical evacuations and travel to and from Gaza. The World Health 
Organization says there are more than 16,500 sick and wounded people who need 
to leave Gaza for medical care.

   It was not immediately clear when the border crossing would be opened, 
however.

   Egypt wants Palestinians to be able to return to Gaza through the crossing 
and says it would only be opened if movement is allowed both ways. Israel says 
Palestinians will not be able to return to Gaza through the crossing until the 
last hostages' remains are returned from Gaza.

   The Israeli military body charged with facilitating aid to Gaza, COGAT, said 
Israel would coordinate with Egypt on the exit of Palestinians, under the 
supervision of a mission from the European Union. Those wishing to leave Gaza 
will require "Israeli security approval," COGAT said.

   Palestinians who want to leave Gaza will be able to move through Rafah if 
Egypt agrees to receive them, Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian 
said. But the crossing won't be open for Palestinians seeking to return to Gaza 
until all of the hostages in the territory are returned to Israel, she said.

   Citing an unnamed Egyptian official, Egypt's State Information Service said, 
if an agreement is reached, the crossing will be opened for travel in both 
directions in accordance with the ceasefire plan advanced by U.S. President 
Donald Trump.

   Egypt fears that Palestinians allowed to leave Gaza might not be able to 
return.

   Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has warned that Israel might prompt 
an exodus from Gaza as a way to permanently expel people and "eliminate the 
Palestinian cause" for statehood. More than 100,000 Palestinians that left Gaza 
after the war started, including those wounded in the conflict, have been 
living in Egypt, according to Egyptian authorities.

   The Rafah crossing was sealed off in May 2024 when Israel's military invaded 
the area. It was briefly opened in February this year as part of a previous 
ceasefire for the evacuation of sick and wounded Palestinians.

   Fighting in Gaza City leads to 1 Palestinian death

   In Gaza City, a Palestinian man was killed by Israeli fire, a hospital said, 
marking the latest reported Palestinian fatality in the territory.

   Israeli forces shot the 46-year-old man in the Zeitoun neighborhood, 
according to the Al-Ahli hospital, which received the body. Israel's military 
did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

   The hospital said the man was shot while in the "safe zone," which, under 
the terms of the ceasefire, is not controlled by the Israeli military. The Gaza 
Health Ministry says more than 360 Palestinians have been killed across Gaza 
since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 11.

   Return of Palestinian bodies in flux

   Twenty living hostages and the remains of 26 others have been returned to 
Israel since the ceasefire began.

   Israel has been releasing 15 Palestinian bodies for the remains of each 
hostage as part of the ceasefire agreement. The Gaza Health Ministry said the 
total number of remains received so far is 330. Health officials in Gaza have 
said they have only been able to identify a fraction of the bodies handed over 
by Israel, and the process is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits.

   The ceasefire aims to wind down the war that was triggered by the Hamas-led 
attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken 
hostage.

   The Gaza Health ministry says the total Palestinian death toll from the war 
is over 70,100. The ministry does not distinguish between militants and 
civilians, though it says roughly half of those killed have been women and 
children. The ministry operates under the Hamas-run government. It is staffed 
by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally 
reliable by the international community.