JERUSALEM/GAZA/RAMALLAH - The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Friday that it recovered the body of an Israeli hostage from the Gaza Strip as it pushes ahead with its offensive on the city.

The hostage was identified as Ilan Weiss, 55, from the village of Be'eri near the Gaza Strip border. His wife and daughter were abducted in the Hamas-led attack on Oct 7, 2023, and were released alive after 50 days in captivity as part of a ceasefire-hostage deal.

Weiss was considered missing until Jan 1, 2024, when the IDF announced that he was killed on the day of the attack, a finding later confirmed by Israel's National Center for Forensic Medicine.

The recovery operation was carried out by the IDF's Southern Command, in coordination with the IDF Intelligence Directorate, the Shin Bet domestic security agency, the Hostages and Missing Persons Headquarters, and other special forces.

The IDF added that findings linked to another deceased hostage, whose name has not yet been cleared for publication, were also retrieved and confirmed.

According to Israeli authorities, nearly 50 hostages are still held in Gaza, with around 20 believed to be alive.

Earlier in the day, the IDF announced the suspension of daily pauses in fighting, which allowed humanitarian aid to enter the famine-hit city.

Israel's state-owned Kan TV News reported Friday evening that Israel will stop the airdrop operation of humanitarian aid over Gaza City in the coming days, and the entry of ground aid via trucks to the northern Gaza Strip will also be reduced.

Kan said the Israeli army is supposed to take control of Gaza before the Jewish New Year, marked on Sept 23.

Kan quoted senior Israeli security officials as saying that in about a week and a half, the first notices will be sent to Gaza City residents, telling them to leave the city immediately.

Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said on Friday that Israel's plans to occupy Gaza City will be "disastrous".

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Abu Obeida, spokesperson of the brigades, said in a press statement that the operation will bring heavy costs to Israel's political and military leadership, and that the Israeli army will "pay in the blood of its soldiers".

He claimed that the group will continue to hold Israeli prisoners under the same conditions as its fighters and will disclose details in the event of their deaths.

The warning came after the Israeli army announced on Friday the start of "preliminary operations and the initial stages" of an attack on Gaza City, saying its forces are operating with "great intensity" on the city's outskirts.

The number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip since Oct 7, 2023, has surpassed 63,000, with at least 48 fatalities reported on Friday, according to Gaza's health authorities and civil defense.

In a press statement, the health authorities said that 59 bodies and 244 wounded were brought to hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours, adding that many victims remain under the rubble as ambulances and civil defense crews face difficulties reaching them due to continued bombardments and a shortage of resources.

The statement said the total death toll of Palestinians since the start of the conflict has climbed to 63,025, with 159,490 others injured.

Visas not granted to Palestine's UNGA delegation

Also on Friday, Palestine expressed "deep regret and astonishment" at the US decision not to grant visas to the Palestinian delegation for the upcoming UN General Assembly.

The Palestinian presidency "stressed that this decision stands in clear contradiction to international law and the UN Headquarters Agreement, particularly since the State of Palestine is an observer member of the United Nations", the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported.

It "called on the US administration to reconsider and reverse its decision, reaffirming Palestine's full commitment to international law, UN resolutions, and obligations toward peace", it said.

Vice-President of Palestine Hussein al-Sheikh called on the United States to "reconsider and reverse" its decision.

"This decision is against international law and the rules and laws of the headquarters," he said on social media platform X.

The US Department of State on Friday said in a statement that it is "denying and revoking visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) ahead of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly."

"The Trump Administration has been clear: it is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace," it said.

Gaza's most senior IS figure killed

Separately, the IDF said in a statement on Friday that it had killed a senior member of the Islamic State (IS) group in the Gaza Strip over the past week.

The IDF identified the man as Muhammad Abd al-Aziz Abu Zubaida, who served as head of the Palestine District of the IS in the Gaza Strip - the most senior position within the group in the territory.

According to the statement, Abu Zubaida was targeted in an airstrike carried out under intelligence guidance. He was allegedly responsible for setting policy, planning operations, and overseeing IS activities in the West Bank, Gaza, and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

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The IDF said IS fighters had been directly engaged in battles against Israeli forces in Gaza, and accused the group of transferring combat equipment, as well as raising significant funds from the West Bank into the Gaza Strip.