Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, said on Wednesday night (15) that it had handed over all the remains of the Israeli hostages that it managed to recover without additional equipment, which could put the ceasefire with Israel in the Gaza Strip at risk.
In a statement, the Palestinian militant group said it “fulfilled what was agreed and handed over all those it had in terms of live hostages and the bodies it managed to recover.” However, he stated that he needed “special equipment” to find and extract the remains of the other deceased hostages, adding that he was “making great efforts”.
Under the terms of last week’s internationally brokered ceasefire, Israel and Hamas were to cease fighting, and the militant group would return all hostages it held — both the living and the bodies of those who died, totaling 48 people — in exchange for the release of Palestinians held by Israel, among other conditions.
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Hamas released the 20 hostages alive on Monday, and militants in Gaza handed over the remains of eight people in the following days. Israel identified six of these bodies as Israeli and one as Nepalese. The identity of the eighth was still unclear.
The announcement that Hamas had failed to recover the remains of more hostages came after the group delivered two more coffins to the Red Cross on Wednesday, bringing the total number of bodies handed over to 10. However, this left the remains of more than a dozen people unlocated.
Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed receipt of two Red Cross coffins on Wednesday night, a representative for Netanyahu declined to immediately comment on Hamas’ latest statement.
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It called for the immediate delivery of all remaining bodies of the hostages in Gaza — it was estimated that around 25 deceased hostages were held there before the ceasefire. But the agreement acknowledged that some bodies could be difficult to locate and take longer to recover due to widespread destruction in the enclave. Two years of Israeli attacks have reduced much of Gaza to rubble.
On Monday, the Israeli government was considering measures to penalize Hamas for not handing over more bodies, according to two diplomats briefed by Israeli officials and three Israeli officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
On Wednesday, following Hamas’ announcement, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s office said in a statement that he had ordered the Israeli military to prepare a plan for the total defeat of Hamas in Gaza if the group did not comply with the terms of the agreement released by President Donald Trump late last month, which also called for Hamas’s disarmament.
“If Hamas refuses to comply with the agreement, Israel, in coordination with the US, will return to fighting and work to completely defeat Hamas, change the reality in Gaza and achieve all of the war’s objectives,” the statement said.
The question raised by Hamas’ latest statement is whether Israel and the United States will interpret this as a violation of the agreement.
Trump had already criticized Hamas on Tuesday, saying in a post on Truth Social that “the job is not done.”
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“The dead were not returned, as promised,” he wrote.
Trump also claimed that Hamas had agreed to disarm, although the group has not publicly confirmed that position.
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Trump said that if Hamas refused to disarm, “Israel will be back on the streets as soon as I say the word,” suggesting that fighting in Gaza could resume. But Trump also celebrated the agreement and said the prospects for long-term peace were positive, given regional support for his plan.
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Qatar, Egypt and Turkey were mediators of the agreement, along with the United States, and on Monday their heads of state and Trump signed a commitment to “work collectively” on implementing the agreement at a ceasefire conference held in Egypt and attended by dozens of world leaders.
Under the terms of the agreement, Hamas must share any intelligence it has about where the bodies may be, and there is still some chance that Israeli authorities will accept the group’s claims that it has been unable to recover the remains due to conditions in the Gaza Strip.
The truce agreement details how the remains of former hostages in Gaza can be located and returned if Hamas is unable to do so immediately. It envisions the creation of a joint task force, which would include the United States and other mediators, to share information and help find the remaining bodies, according to three Israeli officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak publicly.
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These officials said Israel believes Hamas knows where many, but not all, of the bodies are.
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