TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A septuagenarian Israeli woman who was taken hostage during Hamas's attack on southern Israel on 0ct. 7, 2023, has died.
She was among the 250 hostages the Palestinian militant group took back into Gaza following the surprise attack that left about 1,200 people dead. Israel’s subsequent bombardment and ground invasion have killed over 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said on Tuesday it intercepted a projectile launched from Yemen.
Here’s the latest:
US journalist missing in Syria since 2012 is believed to be alive, says aid group
DAMASCUS, Syria - American journalist Austin Tice is believed to be still alive, according to the head of an international aid group.
Nizar Zakka, who runs the Hostage Aid Worldwide organization, said there has never been any proof that Tice, who has been missing since 2012, is dead.
Zakka told reporters in Damascus on Tuesday that Tice was alive in January and being held by the authorities of ousted Bashar Assad. He added that U.S. President Joe Biden said in August that Tice was alive.
Zakka said Tice was transferred between security agencies over the past 12 years, including in an area where Iranian-backed fighters were operating.
Asked if it was possible Tice had been taken out of the country, Zakka said Assad most likely kept him in Syria as a potential bargaining chip.
Biden said Dec. 8 that his administration believed Tice was alive and was committed to bringing him home, though he also acknowledged that “we have no direct evidence” of his status.
A former Israeli hostage dies
TEL AVIV, Israel — Hannah Katzir, an Israeli woman who was taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, and freed in a brief ceasefire last year, has died. She was 78.
The Hostages Families Forum, a group representing the families of people taken captive, confirmed the death Tuesday but did not disclose the cause.
Her daughter, Carmit Palty Katzi,r said in a statement that her mother’s “heart could not withstand the terrible suffering since Oct. 7.”
Katzir’s husband, Rami, was killed during the attack by militants who raided their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Her son Elad was also kidnapped and his body was recovered in April by the Israeli military, who said he had been killed in captivity.
She spent 49 days in captivity and was freed in late November 2023. Shortly after Katzir was freed, her daughter told Israeli media that she had been hospitalized with heart issues attributed to “difficult conditions and starvation” while she was held captive.
Israeli air defense system intercepts projectile launched from Yemen
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel's military said the projectile was intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory, but it set off air raid sirens overnight in the country's populous central area, sending residents looking for cover.
Israel’s rescue service Magen David Adom said a 60-year-old woman was seriously wounded after being hurt on her way to a protected space.
There was no immediate comment from Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
It was the third time in a week that fire from Yemen set off sirens in Israel. On Saturday, a missile slammed into a playground in Tel Aviv, injuring 16, after Israel’s air defense system failed to intercept it.
Earlier last week, Israeli jets struck Yemen’s rebel-held capital and a port city, killing nine. Israel said the strikes were in response to previous Houthi attacks.
