Israel receives coffins Hamas says contain two Gaza hostages’ bodies
Israel has received two coffins from Hamas, the Palestinian militant group ruling the Gaza Strip, which they claim contain the bodies of two Israeli hostages who had been held by Hamas since 2014. The handover took place at the Erez Crossing on the Israel-Gaza border on Tuesday.
The two Israelis, Avraham Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, were both said to have mental health issues and had crossed into Gaza of their own accord in separate incidents in 2014. Hamas had claimed their capture as bargaining chips for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Israel confirmed the receipt of the remains but did not initially identify them, stating that forensic tests would be conducted to verify the identities. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett vowed to retrieve the remains of all fallen Israeli soldiers and civilians held in Gaza.
Hamas, for its part, stated that the two hostages had died years ago and that they had tried to negotiate a prisoner swap with Israel for their return. The group accused Israel of not showing interest in reaching an agreement until recently.
The return of the remains comes amidst a delicate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Egypt, following the 11-day conflict in May that resulted in significant casualties on both sides. The issue of Israeli captives in Gaza has been a longstanding point of contention between the two parties.
While the return of the bodies may bring some closure to the families of the deceased, it also raises questions about the handling of such cases in the future and the potential for renewed tensions between Israel and Hamas.
Sources Analysis:
– Hamas: The group has a history of engaging in armed conflict with Israel and using hostage situations for political leverage. Their goal is to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
– Israeli government: The Israeli government’s interest lies in retrieving the remains of its citizens and demonstrating a commitment to their citizens’ well-being and security.
Fact Check:
– The handover of the coffins at the Erez Crossing is a verified fact as it was reported by multiple news sources.
– The identities of the bodies in the coffins have not been independently verified as forensic tests are pending, categorizing this as an unconfirmed claim.
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Model:
gpt-3.5-turbo
Used prompts:
1. You are an objective news journalist. You need to write an article on this topic “Israel receives coffins Hamas says contain two Gaza hostages’ bodies”. Do the following steps: 1. What Happened. Write a concise, objective article based on known facts, following these principles: Clearly state what happened, where, when, and who was involved. Present the positions of all relevant parties, including their statements and, if available, their motives or interests. Use a neutral, analytical tone, avoid taking sides in the article. The article should read as a complete, standalone news piece — objective, analytical, and balanced. Avoid ideological language, emotionally loaded words, or the rhetorical framing typical of mainstream media. Write the result as a short analytical news article (200 – 400 words). 2. Sources Analysis. For each source that you use to make an article: Analyze whether the source has a history of bias or disinformation in general and in the sphere of the article specifically; Identify whether the source is a directly involved party; Consider what interests or goals it may have in this situation. Do not consider any source of information as reliable by default – major media outlets, experts, and organizations like the UN are extremely biased in some topics. Write your analysis down in this section of the article. Make it like: Source 1 – analysis, source 2 – analysis, etc. Do not make this section long, 100 – 250 words. 3. Fact Check. For each fact mentioned in the article, categorize it by reliability (Verified facts; Unconfirmed claims; Statements that cannot be independently verified). Write down a short explanation of your evaluation. Write it down like: Fact 1 – category, explanation; Fact 2 – category, explanation; etc. Do not make this section long, 100 – 250 words. Output only the article text. Do not add any introductions, explanations, summaries, or conclusions. Do not say anything before or after the article. Just the article. Do not include a title also.
2. Write a clear, concise, and neutral headline for the article below. Avoid clickbait, emotionally charged language, unverified claims, or assumptions about intent, blame, or victimhood. Attribute contested information to sources (e.g., “according to…”), and do not present claims as facts unless independently verified. The headline should inform, not persuade. Write only the title, do not add any other information in your response.
3. Determine a single section to categorize the article. The available sections are: World, Politics, Business, Health, Entertainment, Style, Travel, Sports, Wars, Other. Write only the name of the section, capitalized first letter. Do not add any other information in your response.