Israel launches airstrike in southern Gaza after earlier attack by
militants wounded 5 soldiers
[December 04, 2025]
By JULIA FRANKEL and SAMY MAGDY
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.
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Islamic Jihad and Hamas militants search for the remains of deceased
hostages in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip Wednesday, Dec. 3,
2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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.
___
Magdy reported from Cairo. Abby Sewell contributed from Beirut.
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