Israel-Gaza conflict: IDF recovers bodies of five hostages killed by Hamas

The IDF also released a video of a Hamas tunnel network on the social media platform X.

In an X post, IDF said: "In a centralized intelligence effort, IDF troops located and recovered the bodies of 5 hostages—abducted during the October 7 Massacre."

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed hope that a Security Council resolution to get more aid into Gaza, adopted on Friday (December 22, 2023), could pave the way to a humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Guterres was speaking at a press briefing at UN Headquarters shortly after the 15-member Council passed the resolution following days of negotiation.

He told journalists that there has been no significant change in the way the war has been unfolding in Gaza, with no effective protection of civilians.

He outlined devastation that includes more than 20,000 Palestinians reportedly killed and 1.9 million people, 85 per cent of the population, forced to flee their homes.

Gaza's health system is on its knees, clean water is at a trickle and the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned of the threat of widespread famine.

"A humanitarian ceasefire is the only way to begin to meet the desperate needs of people in Gaza and end their ongoing nightmare," he said.

"I hope that today’s Security Council Resolution may help this finally to happen but much more is needed immediately,” he added.

'Massive obstacles'

Guterres said it was a mistake to measure the effectiveness of the humanitarian operation in Gaza based on the number of aid trucks that are allowed to enter the enclave.

“The real problem is that the way Israel is conducting this offensive is creating massive obstacles to the distribution of humanitarian aid inside Gaza,” he said.

He stressed that an effective aid operation requires four elements that currently do not exist, namely security, staff who can work in safety, logistical capacity, and the resumption of commercial activity.

Regarding security, he noted that the intense Israeli bombardment and active combat in densely populated areas threatens both civilians and aid workers.

While humanitarian staff need to be able to live and work in safety, 136 personnel from the UN agency that assists Palestinians, UNRWA, have been killed since the start of the conflict, he said, adding that “nowhere is safe in Gaza.”