By Stephanie Kelly
REHOBOTH BEACH, DELAWARE (Reuters) – Israel said it has discovered a number of bodies in Gaza during combat, and that its military was carrying out a process to extract and identify the bodies, which will take several hours.
It asked that the public refrain from spreading rumors as to the identities of the bodies.
U.S. President Joe Biden said his staff was in contact with the Israelis and confirmed that they have discovered bodies in Gaza. He was unsure of the exact number of bodies. Biden added he was not at liberty to identify the bodies at this time.
At least 40,691 Palestinians have been killed and 94,060 injured in Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, the enclave’s health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The war was triggered when Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
On Saturday, clashes broke out between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters in the occupied West Bank as Israel pushed ahead with a military operation in the flashpoint city of Jenin. Hundreds of Israeli troops have been carrying out raids since Wednesday in one of their largest actions in the West Bank in months.
Biden, speaking to reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, said he was “still optimistic,” about a ceasefire deal to stop the conflict.
“I think we’re on the verge of having an agreement,” he said. “It’s time this war ended.”
Biden added that “people are continuing to meet.”
“We think we can close the deal, they’ve all said they agree on the principles.”
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly and Doina Chiacu; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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