The remains of French-Israeli hostage Elya Toledano have been recovered in Gaza, the Israeli army said on Friday, December 15. His body, identified by forensic experts, was recovered during an operation by army special forces in the Palestinian enclave and repatriated to Israel. The 28-year-old was one of 140 hostages kidnapped by Hamas at a music festival at the time of the October 7 attack. “He would have been kidnapped [et emmené] in Gaza, his brother Daniel testified on BFMTV. It is Israeli intelligence that provides us with this information.” He was also the boyfriend of French-Israeli hostage Mia Schem, a young woman aged 21 who was released by Hamas on November 30. Follow our live broadcast.
The Israeli army promises more difficult battles. Attacks against the Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip increased in the night from Thursday to Friday. “There will be more difficult fighting in the coming days,” warned Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari.
Another cut in telecommunications in Gaza. According to Palestinian operator Paltel, telecommunications will be disrupted again “due to the ongoing aggression.” Hamas accused that cutting telecommunications would make the work of rescue workers more difficult, which would cause the number of victims in the raids to “increase.”
Washington urges Israel to “be careful.” US national security adviser Jake Sullivan arrived in Israel on Thursday, where he met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. He asked Israeli officials “tough questions” and discussed the possibility of shifting the offensive to “lower-intensity operations” in the “near future,” the White House said. Joe Biden called on Israelis to “focus on preserving the lives of civilians and not on taking action against Hamas, but on being more careful.”