Middle East latest: Hundreds gather as hostage remains are buried
Hundreds of people gathered in the stadium of hostage Tsachi Idan's favorite soccer team in Tel Aviv Friday to pay their respects ahead of his burial.
The body of Idan was returned Thursday as Hamas handed over what it said were the remains of four Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of more than 600 Palestinian detainees held by Israel. It was the last planned swap of the ceasefire's first phase, which began in January.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Idan, who was taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 2023 attack that sparked the war in Gaza, was killed in captivity.
On Thursday, Egypt said that 'intensive discussions' between Israel and Hamas on the next phase of the ceasefire in Gaza have begun in Cairo. The first phase is set to expire this weekend, but the agreement says the truce remains in effect during the negotiations.
About 60 hostages remain in captivity, of whom Israel has declared 32 to be dead.
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8 arrested for spitting at churches amid tensions
JERUSALEM — Israeli police said Friday they arrested eight people for spitting at churches in Jerusalem's Old City, as religious tensions threatened to flare in the contested capital.
Grainy security video released by the police showed two young Jewish men in a procession, who appeared to be spitting on the ground.
The police said they arrested both minors and adults, but did not specify their ages or names.
Clergy have said that attacks on church property in the Old City have worsened since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war Oct. 7, 2023.
The arrests come as the Old City gears up for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a holiday that could spark clashes.
Sister of dead hostage asks for his forgiveness in stadium eulogy
TEL AVIV — Mourners in Israel on Friday were burying the remains of one of the last hostages released in the first phase of the ceasefire between Hamas militants and Israel, as negotiators discussed a second phase of the deal that could end the war in Gaza and see the remaining live hostages returning home.
The funeral procession for Tsachi Idan, an avid soccer fan who was 49 when he was abducted by Hamas militants, began from a football stadium in Tel Aviv towards the cemetery where he was to be buried in a private ceremony.
'Today, I say goodbye to my dear brother,' said Idan's sister, Noam Idan Ben Azra, speaking before the crowd of fans of Hapoel Tel Aviv, the soccer team Idan supported. 'I asked him for forgiveness, on our behalf, that he was returned in a coffin not walking as he was taken.'
Idan was taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz. His eldest daughter, Maayan, was killed as militants shot through the door of the family's safe room.
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