A Toronto-based woman whose family lives in Israel says she is wrestling with both anger and grief after learning a cousin taken hostage by Hamas has died in the Gaza Strip.
Maayan Shavit says 40-year-old Carmel Gat was among six hostages whose bodies were recovered by the Israeli army in Gaza on Saturday shortly after they were killed.
The militant group seized more than 200 hostages in the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the ongoing war, and more than 1,200 Israelis were killed, including one of Shavit’s aunts.
The release of hostages has been a key issue in internationally led peace talks meant to end the war, with Hamas vowing to release all hostages if Israel halts attacks in Gaza and releases hundreds of prisoners. Israel insists it will not stop until Hamas has been destroyed.
The six latest hostage deaths have sparked an outpouring of protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with tens of thousands …