Israeli forces have uncovered an Islamic State flag among the gear of a Hamas terrorist killed in Kibbutz Sufa near the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters on Thursday.
During the press conference, which came against the backdrop of rocket barrages from the Gaza Strip, triggering sirens as far away as Netanya and Ariel, Hagari also said the IDF had so far notified the families of 97 hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The IDF on Wednesday also named another 31 soldiers killed since Saturday, bringing the toll of slain soldiers to 220.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden compared Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault on Israel to the atrocities committed by ISIS.
“The brutality of Hamas—this bloodthirstiness—brings to mind the worst—the worst rampages of ISIS. This is terrorism,” said Biden.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Wednesday, where he was scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and other senior officials.
Blinken is also scheduled to meet with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan on Friday.
