Gaza: Israel says it recovered bodies of 2 hostages

• Israel says it has recovered the bodies of two individuals abducted by the Islamist militant group Hamas
• Israel also claimed that aid distribution centers in the war-torn enclave of Gaza would reopen on Thursday
• Distribution has been hampered by Israel blocking traditional aid organizations and three shootings by the Israeli military at aid centers
• Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar traveled to Berlin Thursday to meet with German FM Johann Wadephul

Follow below for the main developments on Israel and the crisis in the Middle East on Thursday, June 5:

06/05/2025June 5, 2025

UNICEF decries private aid program for 'forceable displacement of a population'

DW spoke with James Elder of UNICEF on the current humanitarian situation in Gaza as the US and Israel introduce a controversial new, private aid distribution system that has been temporarily shut down after the Israeli military carried out three deadly shootings at its distribution points.

The UN has accused the two nations of having made "deliberate choices to deprive people in Gaza of the essentials to survive," after throwing UN and international aid groups out of Gaza and replacing them with centralized distribution centers operated by the privately run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

When speaking of the role played by UN humanitarian aid organizations, UNICEF's Elder said, "we know what works, we just have to be allowed to do it."

Elder said the US and Israel plan of centralizing aid distribution has resulted in the "forceable displacement of a population," criticizing the fact that people were being drawn into military conflict zones due to the limited number of distribution sites and the fact that these are guarded by Israeli military forces and private US security contractors.

06/05/2025June 5, 2025

Palestinian UN ambassador looks to General Assembly after US vetoes UN Gaza ceasefire resolution

Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour has said he will seek a General Assembly vote on a Gaza ceasefire resolution that failed to pass in the Security Council after a US veto late Wednesday.

The US argued the draft drew "false equivalency" between Israel and Hamasand claimed it would reward the group that sparked the current ongoing conflict with an October 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel. 

Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea said the draft resolution would also undermine US-led peace negotiations.

Shea blasted the Security Council what she saw as "engaging in this performative process — at a time when serious questions are being asked about the utility of the UN, its funding, and use of resources — is shameful."

Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon, berated the 14 Security Council members who voted in favor of the resolution, saying: "You chose appeasement and submission. You chose a road that does not lead to peace. Only to more terror."

Pressure has been building on Israel and its largest supporter, the US, over the dire conditions in Gaza.

Over 54,000 people — many of them women and children — have been killed.

Israel has sparked outrage for preventing the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Gaza. Now Israel and the US have thrown their support behind a controversial private contractor tasked with delivering aid after UN-backed programs were forced out of the enclave by the Israeli government.

United Kingdom UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward described Israel's intensifying military campaign and its clampdown on aid as, "unjustifiable, disproportionate and counterproductive."

06/05/2025June 5, 2025

German foreign minister welcomes Israeli counterpart

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will welcome Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar to Berlin on Thursday. The two diplomats are scheduled to visit Berlin's Holocaust Memorial where they will lay a wreath in remembrance of the six million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany during the World War II.

Thursday's meeting will be the second official visit the two have had — with the first having taken place on May 11 in Israel.

The current situation in Gaza and the West Bank will be on the agenda as well, as Germany voices concern over the plight of Palestinians and Israel's military conduct.

Wadephul, who previously said arms deliveries to Israel would be contingent upon a legal review of Israel's military operations, yesterday promised weapons deliveries despite growing international criticism of Israel's heavy handed military approach to resolving the situation.

Although criticism has also gotten louder within Germany, the government in Berlin has pledged that it remains steadfastly allied with Israel.

06/05/2025June 5, 2025

Israel recovers bodies of 2 hostages

Israel on Thursday announced that it had recovered the bodies of two of its citizens taken hostage by the Islamist militant group Hamas — which is labeled a terror organization by Israel, the US and many other nations — on October 7, 2023.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified the bodies as those of Judith Weinstein (70) and Gad Haggai (72). The couple was initially pronounced dead in December 2023. The two were kidnapped at Kibbutz Nir Oz while on an early morning walk.

Weinstein was able to call Israeli emergency services before she disappeared, saying that both she and her husband had been shot.

Hamas militants killed some 1,200 people on October 7. Of the 251 individuals taken by the group, 56 remain under their control. Around a third of those hostages are thought to be alive. Many have been released in exchanges between Israel and Hamas, and eight were rescued alive by Israeli forces.

06/05/2025June 5, 2025

Welcome to our Gaza coverage for Thursday

Welcome to our Gaza coverage this Thursday, June 5.

DW will bring you the latest from the region as Israel claims to have recovered the bodies of a couple taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and the country's foreign minister travels to Berlin for consultations with German leaders.

Israel also said it would reopen controversial aid centers for Gazans desperately searching for food assistance after they were shut on Wednesday.