Now to the Middle East, where Israel
says it's recovered the body of another
hostage from the Gaza Strip. Elan Vice
was killed on October the 7th, 2023 as
he ran to a weapons storage room where
he lived. His body was then taken to the
Gaza Strip. His wife and daughter were
abducted to Gaza and released in the
first hostage deal. Well, Israel has
stopped humanitarian pauses in fighting
in Gaza City as it steps up its
offensive. The pauses had been put in
place to allow Palestinians to get
desperately needed aid. A famine was
confirmed in the area last week where a
million people are estimated to live.
Israel said its soldiers were now
operating with great force in the
outskirts and its offensive on Gaza City
was in its initial stages.
>> A local journalist captured this blast
on a residential area in northern Gaza.
The Palestinian news agency says 30
people have been killed by Israeli air
strikes in Gaza since dawn. Our Middle
East correspondent Yolan Nell is in
Jerusalem. Yoland, two uh developments
on both the hostage front and on what's
going on on Gaza City. Can you just
bring us up to date?
So first of all, I mean the discovery of
the body of Ilan Vice. He was 56 years
old, the head of the security squad in
his kabuts. uh when he was killed in
those Hamasled attacks on the 7th of
October 2023. Um the Israeli military is
also saying that it has findings related
to the remains of another hostage um
retrieved from Gaza and that an
identification process is going on.
Prior to this, there were 50 hostages um
believed held in Gaza, 20 of whom uh
thought still to be alive. The hostages
and missing families forum did come out
with a statement about the remains of
Ela Vice being brought back saying that
um this brought some comfort um to his
family after 692 days of waiting in the
nightmare of uncertainty. And they also
repeated um their call for a ceasefire
deal for Gaza that would bring back all
of the remaining hostages. Now,
meanwhile in Gaza City, uh what we've
been hearing from witnesses actually is
that um in the past couple of hours,
there have been more intense air
strikes. Just initial reports coming
through of that. Meanwhile, the Israeli
military making this declaration that
Gaza City was now a dangerous combat
zone and that it was suspending these
tactical pauses in fighting that were
introduced about a month ago um to get
more aid in just for Gaza City. This all
seen as being part of the the
preparations um for a bigger operation
to conquer Gaza City. The UN's
humanitarian office has put out some new
figures saying that uh since this new
operation was announced um about 60,000
people have been newly displaced in the
Gaza city area.
>> Yolan Nell, thank you very much indeed
for that.
Well, I'm joined now by Salah Abdul
Shafi, the ambassador of Palestine to
Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and
permanent observer of the state of
Palestine to the UN in Vienna. Thank you
very much for your time today. We've
heard news in the last hour of Israel's
push further into Gaza City. Just your
reaction to that initially, their
decision to pause the humanitarian
pauses to in aid.
Well, basically we're seeing the same
pattern uh since the 7th of uh October.
Massive uh bombing using starvation as a
weapon of uh war. In short, this is a
genocide that is continuing under the
watchful eyes of the international uh
community. There is nothing new since
almost 2 years. Uh the carnage is uh is
going on. Uh, as you just said, the UN
declared a famine in the Gaza Strip and
if Israel continues, uh, I'm afraid
there will be nobody left. So, most of
the people will be displaced, killed,
uh, amputated. Uh, this is a horrible,
unprecedented situation in the 21st
century. Most the vast majority of
hostages were released through a deal.
So basically, you know, killing hundreds
of Palestinians to find the dead body of
a hostage. I mean, this is nonsense. I
mean, this has to stop.
>> You know, of course, that Israel is
pushing for all the hostages to be
released uh from that ceasefire proposal
that was put forward, and they they do
deny, of course, um claims and charges
of genocide. Um there have been talks,
we've heard, at the White House a couple
of days ago.
Are you hearing any progress on any
potential plan that can bring this to a
close?
>> Well, basically what was discussed in
the White House is the day after. Now
the question is after what? After the
Gaza trip has been wiped out after uh
you know Israel has completed its
mission of uh ethnic cleansing and
killing as much as possible
Palestinians. So basically what is
needed today is an end to this carnage
is an end to the genocide and there will
be enough time then to discuss the day
after you know there is a con
reconstruction plan put forward by Egypt
was adopted by uh all Arab countries was
adopted by the conference of Islamic uh
states. So basically what is now urgent
is stop the carnage and the equation is
very simple. Hamas is ready to release
all hostages
in return for a permanent uh ceasefire
and the withdrawal of the Israeli troops
from the Gaza Strip.
>> Okay. Salah Abdul Shafi, thank you very
much indeed for your time today. Thank
you.