GAZA STRIP: Hamas said on Wednesday that seven hostages from its Oct. 7 attacks, including three foreign passport holders, were killed in Israel’s bombing of Gaza’s largest refugee camp.

Dozens of bodies were seen on Tuesday at the Jabalia camp where Israel said it killed a Hamas military commander in a strike on a tunnel complex.

“Seven detainees were killed in the Jabalia massacre yesterday, including three holders of foreign passports,” said a Hamas military wing statement.

LONDON: One of the defining images that emerged in the aftermath of the attack on Israel on Oct. 7 was a frame taken from a video, widely disseminated on social media, showing an elderly Israeli woman being driven away into captivity on a golf cart.

It was no coincidence that this image was released, nor that it was so widely used by media organizations around the world. Kidnapping is a visceral act, designed precisely to generate emotional responses that can only benefit the agenda of the hostage-takers.

LONDON: A first group of British nationals have entered Egypt from Gaza via the Rafah crossing, Britain’s Foreign Office said on Wednesday.
The Foreign Office said it had agreed a list of British nationals that want to leave Gaza with Egyptian and Israeli authorities and would be informed in advance when those on the list can use the crossing.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on X social media platform called Wednesday’s crossing “a hugely important first step.”

LONDON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to Jordan, whose relations with Israel have sharply deteriorated over the Gaza war, on a new crisis trip, the State Department said Wednesday.
The top US diplomat will visit Jordan after previously announced talks on Friday in Israel, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, where he is expected to meet with leaders of the Israeli government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for an update on their military objectives.

AL-MUKALLA: The UK and EU joined 25 international organizations in urging the Houthis in Yemen to investigate the death of a humanitarian worker in their custody. 

The UK Embassy in Yemen expressed condolences on Tuesday to the family of Save the Children worker Hisham Al-Hakimi, who died inside a Houthi detention facility last week, and appealed for details on how he died to be released.