The body was found as international mediators kept up a push for a ceasefire and hostage release deal The Israeli military said Wednesday that its troops recovered the body of a hostage in Gaza and brought it back to Israel following a "complex and difficult operation".

The body of an Israeli hostage held captive by militants in Gaza since the October 7 attack has been identified after recovery of his remains, the military said on Friday.Palestinian militants seized the Arab Bedouin father and son from Kibbutz Holit near the Gaza border during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7,

JERUSALEM — Israeli soldiers recovered the body of a 53-year-old hostage in an underground tunnel in southern Gaza , the military said Wednesday, and the army was determining if another set of remains belongs to the man’s son.

Lebanon’s new president and former army commander Joseph Aoun has maintained a low profile. Bilal Saab, a former Pentagon official who is now senior managing director of the TRENDS US consulting firm,

General Joseph Aoun was widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States, which funds, trains, and arms the Lebanese military and helped broker a cease-fire between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah in November.

Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who has U.S. support and showing the weakened sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.