JERUSALEM: One of the Israeli hostages kidnapped during the October 7 Hamas attack has been killed and his body is being held in Gaza, two groups representing hostage families said Tuesday.
Uriel Baruch, 35, a father of two, was taken from the Supernova music festival, where 364 people were killed by Hamas militants during the unprecedented attack that sparked the war in Gaza.
The Israeli army told his family that his body was being held in Gaza, the Tikva Forum hostages group said in a statement.
Another group, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, also said Baruch had been killed.
It described the techno fan, whose children are aged eight and five, as “a joyful person who loved life and loved to have fun.”
“Uriel’s body is still being held captive by Hamas,” it added.
Militants seized 253 Israeli and foreign hostages during the October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war and resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Around 100 hostages were released during a truce at the end of November, some in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Israel believes around 130 captives remain in Gaza, including 34 presumed dead.
Israeli hostage in Gaza dead, say families
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Israeli hostage in Gaza dead, say families
- Israel believes around 130 captives remain in Gaza, including 34 presumed dead
Hezbollah's slain former chief Hassan Nasrallah to be buried in February
BEIRUT: Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Sunday that the group's slain former chief, Hassan Nasrallah, would be buried on Feb. 23.
Developing story
King of Jordan to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington
- King Abdullah will be the first Arab leader to meet with Trump in his second term
LONDON: Jordan’s King Abdullah II will meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., the Jordan News Agency, also known as Petra, reported.
King Abdullah will be the first Arab leader to meet with Trump since his inauguration to the Oval Office in January.
Petra announced on Sunday afternoon that the monarch will meet Trump on Feb. 11 after receiving an invitation from the White House.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit Washington on Tuesday, making him the first foreign leader to meet with Trump since his inauguration.
Analysts say Trump will discuss various issues with the two Middle Eastern leaders, including the terms of a second phase of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the flow of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian coastal enclave.
Omani army chief of staff meets French counterpart in Muscat
- Thierry Burkhard also met Omani Deputy Prime Minister for Defense Affairs
LONDON: Vice-Admiral Abdullah Khamis Al-Raisi, the Omani Armed Forces’ chief of staff, received French Chief of Defence General Thierry Burkhard in his office at Al-Murta’a'a Garrison on Sunday.
During the meeting, both sides exchanged views and reviewed various military matters of mutual interest, reported the Oman News Agency.
Burkhard and his delegation were also received by Omani Deputy Prime Minister for Defense Affairs Sayyid Shihab bin Tarik Al-Said.
The meeting was attended by Nabil Hajlaoui, the French ambassador to Muscat, and the French military attache.
Arab League calls scientists to develop AI as technology becomes dominant
- Saudi Arabia is a key player in the Middle East in adopting AI technologies
- Ahmed Aboul Gheit said rapid advancements in AI resemble an 'arms race' between China and the US
LONDON: Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the secretary-general of the Arab League, called on Arab scientists to develop regulations and standards for artificial intelligence during a dialogue meeting on Sunday.
The two-day meeting, “Artificial Intelligence in the Arab World: Innovative Applications and Ethical Challenges,” held at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, will explore the development of generative AI technologies, including drones and robotics.
Aboul Gheit said that computer scientists must set up standards for AI projects as the technology has become increasingly prevalent in several sectors in the past decade.
During the opening session, he noted that many Arab countries focused on maximizing AI’s benefits.
Saudi Arabia is a key player in the Middle East in adopting AI technologies across various sectors, including industry and energy. In 2019, the Kingdom established a dedicated organization called the Saudi Data and AI Authority to regulate, develop, and implement data and AI strategies.
Aboul Gheit noted the rapid advancements in AI, particularly in large language models and generative intelligence, resemble an “arms race” among major powers, including China and the US.
“Our scientists, politicians, and thinkers must keep pace with everything that is going on with AI in the world. This general-purpose technology will reshape the way we work, interact, and live,” he added.
Israeli military blows up several buildings in West Bank’s Jenin, Palestinian news agency says
- Jenin Government Hospital Director Wisam Baker told the Palestinian state news agency that part of the hospital was damaged in the explosions
- Palestinian state news agency said a 27 year-old man had been killed on Sunday by Israeli forces raiding a refugee camp near Hebron
RAMALLAH/JERUSALEM: The Israeli military blew up several buildings in the occupied West Bank on Sunday in a series of simultaneous explosions that the Palestinian state news agency said had leveled around 20 buildings in the Jenin refugee camp.
Thick clouds were seen rising from the Palestinian city where Israeli forces have been conducting a massive operation for nearly two weeks that the Israeli military says is targeted at local militants, including seizing weapons stockpiles.
Asked about the simultaneous demolition of buildings in Jenin, a spokesperson for the military said “several structures used as terrorist infrastructure” had been dismantled. More details would be released later, the person said.
Jenin Government Hospital Director Wisam Baker told the Palestinian state news agency that part of the hospital was damaged in the explosions but that there had been no casualties.
Jenin is a crowded township built for descendants of Palestinians who were driven out, or fled their homes, in the 1948 war when the state of Israel was established.
The refugee camp there has been a center of militant activity for decades and the target of repeated raids by Israeli security forces. Israeli forces, backed by helicopters and armored bulldozers, began the assault on the city on Jan. 21, two days after Israel reached a ceasefire in Gaza with militant group Hamas.
Hamas on Sunday called for an “escalation in the resistance” against Israel following the demolition of buildings in Jenin.
The Palestinian Authority, a Hamas rival, exercises limited governance over the West Bank where around 3 million Palestinians live and over which Israel maintains overall military control. Israeli forces have engaged in gunbattles with local militants since the operation began.
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday said security forces would stay until the operation is complete, without saying when that would be.
At least 25 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli military operation began, including nine members of armed groups, a 73 year-old man and a two-year-old girl, according to Palestinian officials. The Israeli military says it has killed at least 35 militants and detained over 100 wanted individuals.
Dozens of homes and roads have been destroyed by Israeli forces in the latest campaign. The Palestinian state news agency also said that a 27 year-old man had been killed on Sunday by Israeli forces raiding a refugee camp near Hebron.
