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Israeli Hostage in Gaza Dead, Say Families

The house in Nir Yitzhak, in southern Israel near the Gaza border, from which the two hostages were snatched on October 7 © Menahem Kahana / AFP
The house in Nir Yitzhak, in southern Israel near the Gaza border, from which the two hostages were snatched on October 7 © Menahem Kahana / AFP
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Israeli Hostage in Gaza Dead, Say Families

The house in Nir Yitzhak, in southern Israel near the Gaza border, from which the two hostages were snatched on October 7 © Menahem Kahana / AFP
The house in Nir Yitzhak, in southern Israel near the Gaza border, from which the two hostages were snatched on October 7 © Menahem Kahana / AFP

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 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.

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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Medical aid agency MSF said on Friday it has been forced to suspend its activities at one of the few remaining hospitals in southern Khartoum due to repeated attacks, cutting off yet another lifeline for those who remain in the Sudanese capital.
War has been raging in Sudan since April 2023, sparked by a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, triggering the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.
The hospital, which lies in territory controlled by the RSF, helped treat the victims of frequent airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces, as well as hundreds of malnourished women and children in an area where two neighborhoods have been judged at risk of famine, reported Reuters.
"In the 20 months MSF teams have worked alongside hospital staff and volunteers, Bashair Hospital has experienced repeated incidents of armed fighters entering the hospital with weapons and threatening medical staff, often demanding fighters be treated before other patients," MSF said in a statement.
"Despite extensive engagements with all stakeholders, these attacks have continued in recent months. MSF has now taken the very difficult decision to suspend all medical activities in the hospital."
The fighting in Sudan has cut off up to 80% of hospitals in conflict areas, where millions who cannot afford to escape the violence remain. Civilians face frequent air and artillery fire and hunger as supplies are blocked by both warring parties and prices skyrocket.
Medical facilities, including MSF-supported ones that have suspended operations, have frequently come under attack by RSF soldiers demanding treatment or looting supplies. Bashair Hospital has served more than 25,000 people, MSF said, including 9,000 hurt by blasts, gunshot wounds, and other violence.
"Sometimes dozens of people arrived at the hospital at the same time after shelling or airstrikes on residential areas and markets," MSF said in the statement, citing an incident on Sunday where an airstrike one kilometer away drove 50 people to the emergency room, 12 of them already dead.