Israel confirms the murder of Illarramendi in the Hamas attack while "concern" grows for the Spanish in Gaza

A month after the Hamas attacks in Israel, hundreds of families still do not know if their relatives are among the more than 1,400 dead. The condition of many bodies has made it impossible to identify them and little by little the identities of many of them are becoming known.. This was the case of the Spanish Iván Illarramendi, 26, and his wife, the Chilean Loren Garcovich, 47, who the Government of Spain believed were among the more than 240 kidnapped.. This Wednesday, that information was denied after it was confirmed that both were murdered and burned in their own home during attacks by the Islamist organization that governs Gaza.

The Chilean Foreign Ministry has also confirmed the death of its citizen. Sources from the Chilean Ministry have acknowledged that they already knew the news, but that they had not made it public because Garcovich's father had requested it.. However, after it was made public by Israel, they have been forced to release a statement. “His murder at the hands of Hamas terrorists deserves our most absolute condemnation,” they have maintained.. Israeli diplomatic sources tell 20minutos that both were murdered and burned in their home and that due to the state of the bodies it has taken so long to identify them.

Initially, the Spanish Government had reported that Illarramendi, a native of Zarautz (Gipuzkoa), who lived in the Kissufim kibbutz, two kilometers from the Gaza Strip, had been kidnapped.. The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, had stated this based on the information provided by Israel.. The acting Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, received a delegation of five families of people held in Gaza, including a brother of Illarramendi.. Days after hearing the news, the Guipuzcoan's family asked not to rush, since they had no confirmation of the kidnapping.

The death of Illarramendi brings the number of deceased Spaniards to two. The other victim is the Spanish-Israeli Maya Villalobo Sinvany, 19, who was doing military service with Israel at the Nahal Oz base, near the Gaza border.. Although at first it was also believed that she could have been kidnapped, on October 11, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs recognized that she had died in Hamas attacks.

After hearing the news this Wednesday, the President of the Government has expressed his dismay and has appealed to work for peace in the Middle East. “I want to convey my affection and my most sincere condolences to his family and friends,” wrote Sánchez on his 'X' account (formerly Twitter), who has reiterated the Government's condemnation of the Hamas terrorist attacks and has urged ” work to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East”.

The evacuation of Spaniards from Gaza is delayed

At the same time that the news of Illaramendi was known, the acting Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, assured the press that the evacuation of the Spaniards who are still in the Gaza Strip has been delayed.. Robles has expressed his “concern” about the lack of authorizations for the departure of “between 170 and 190 Spaniards”, among them “almost 80 children”, and has assured that the entire evacuation operation is already prepared in Egypt.

“They have left several countries but not from Spain,” said Robles, who days ago assured that between last Thursday and Friday they were going to leave.. Robles has commented that this “is also a problem of the situation itself since there have been different bombings and ambulances have been attacked and at certain times priority is being given to the injured.”. Thus, Robles wanted to remove the blame from Israel and Egypt and points to Hamas as the actor that “has put obstacles in the way of certain actions.”. “They are making a kind of call that could be in alphabetical order of countries,” he points out.

For his part, the acting Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, has also pointed out that the operation is “especially complex”. The minister acknowledged this Wednesday from Denmark that this is an operation that takes place in the midst of military movements and many parties need to agree.. However, he recalled the experience of Foreign Affairs in other recent cases such as Afghanistan, Ukraine and Sudan and said that the procedure will be the same.

Albares says he is in direct contact with the foreign ministers of Israel and Egypt. In addition, he claims to have all the nationals “perfectly identified”, as well as their families, so they will leave when their safety can be guaranteed.

Israel closes siege on Gaza City

Regarding the war situation in the Palestinian enclave, the Israeli Army has assured that it is deepening its land incursion into the Strip.. This Wednesday the Hebrew State confirmed that its troops have exploded tunnels and anti-tank missile launch sites. Since the beginning of the fighting, “130 tunnel shafts have been destroyed,” said an Israeli Army spokesman, who acknowledged that the readiness of Hamas members for a prolonged stay in the tunnels “can be verified based on the reserves of water and oxygen that are found.

While the ground operation is taking place, the bombings continue, leaving more than 10,560 Palestinians dead in the Strip, most of them children, women and the elderly, as well as some 26,500 injured and 2,550 missing, according to Hamas, which governs Gaza.

The Israeli Army has asked civilians to leave the north, where the offensive is concentrated, and to go to the south of the Strip. For this purpose, a humanitarian corridor has been opened, through which more than 50,000 Palestinians have left, according to Israel.. However, the bombings in the south continue to occur and the Gaza Ministry of Health has assured that almost half of the deaths in recent days have occurred in that area.. The situation throughout the Palestinian enclave remains at its limit and international organizations, including the UN, are calling for the Israeli blockade to end and for humanitarian ceasefires to be agreed.