Sawt Falasteen - Israel recovers hostage bodies from Gaza as West Bank violence rages

The deadly shooting near Hebron added to surging violence in the West Bank, which is separated from Gaza by Israeli territory and where Israel has since Wednesday carried out a large-scale military operation that has sparked international concern.

In the besieged Gaza Strip, "humanitarian pauses" in the nearly 11-month war between Israel and Hamas were set to take place to facilitate a massive polio vaccination drive which a health official told AFP had begun.

Israel's military said the remains of six hostages were recovered Saturday "from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area" in southern Gaza and formally identified in Israel.

The were named as Carmel Gat, who was taken from a kibbutz community near the Gaza border, as well as Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi, Ori Danino, US-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin and Russian-Israeli Alexander Lobanov, who were seized by Palestinian militants from a music festival site.

Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said all six "were abducted alive on the morning of October 7" and "brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them".

US President Joe Biden said he was "devastated and outraged" by their deaths, but told reporters he was "still optimistic" a Gaza truce and hostage release deal can be reached.

"It's time this war ended," said Biden, whose administration has been involved in ceasefire mediation efforts along with Qatar and Egypt.

EU top diplomat Josep Borrell said he was "horrified at the murder" of the hostages, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed shock at their "senseless" killing.

The six were among 251 hostages seized during Hamas's October 7 attack that triggered the ongoing war, 97 of whom remain captive in Gaza including 33 the army says are dead. Scores were released during a negotiated one-week truce in November.

"Were it not for the delays, sabotage and excuses" in months of mediation efforts, the six hostages "would likely still be alive".

The families called for a nationwide general strike from Sunday night to force the government to reach a deal to secure the release of those still held.

A senior Hamas official told AFP on condition of anonymity that "some" of the six had been "approved" for release in a potential hostage-prisoner swap as part of a deal yet to be agreed.

- 'Request forgiveness' -

Critics in Israel have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political gain.

Speaking to Lobanov's parents on Sunday, Netanyahu said: "I would like to tell you how much I regret and request forgiveness for not succeeding in bringing Sasha back alive."

Qatar-based Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said the six were "killed by Zionist (Israeli) bombing", an accusation the military denied.

Netanyahu blamed Hamas leaders "who kill hostages and do not want an agreement", vowing to "settle the score" with them.

Hamas's October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel's offensive has killed at least 40,738 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.

The fighting has devastated Gaza, repeatedly displaced most of its 2.4 million people and triggered a humanitarian crisis. Water, sanitation and medical facilities have been ravaged, contributing to the spread of preventable disease.

After the first confirmed polio case in 25 years, a Gaza health official said vaccinations began Saturday ahead of a wider campaign.

The World Health Organization has said Israel agreed to a series of three-day "humanitarian pauses" to facilitate the campaign that aims to reach some 640,000 children.

On Sunday, it was formally launched at three health centres in central Gaza, said Yasser Shaaban, director of Al-Awda hospital.

"We hope this vaccination campaign for children will be calm," said Shaaban, noting there were "a lot of drones" flying overhead.

Louise Wateridge, a spokeswoman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, later said nearly 2,000 children were vaccinated initially Sunday.

But she added that they were anxious about later: "If the bombing continues after 2:00 pm this is of course going to impact the vaccination campaign... The only way to do this is a ceasefire."

Wateridge later reported a strike in the Nuseirat area.

The civil defence agency said an Israeli air strike killed two people in Gaza City further north, where an AFP correspondent also reported shelling early Sunday.

- West Bank violence -

Israeli forces and Palestinian militants were battling in the West Bank Sunday, five days into major coordinated raids Israel's military has described as "counter-terrorism" operations.

A "shooting attack" near Tarqumiya checkpoint in the Hebron area in the southern West Bank killed three people on Sunday, Israel's emergency medical service said. The police said they were all members of the force.

The military said several assailants may have been involved.

In the northern West Bank, an AFP photographer saw Israeli bulldozers in Jenin's city centre, a day after a local official said soldiers had destroyed most of the streets and power and water had been cut off in the adjacent refugee camp.

At least 22 Palestinians, including 14 claimed by militant groups, have been killed by the Israeli military since the start on Wednesday of simultaneous raids across the northern West Bank.

A 20-year-old soldier was killed Saturday.

Twenty-three Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during army operations over the same period, according to official figures.

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H.Jarrar--SF-PST