On Monday, the terrorist organization Hamas handed over another man's remains to the Red Cross. It has now emerged that the victim's body had already been buried in Israel.
The handover of the remains of a Hamas hostage caused shock in Israel. On Monday, the terrorist organization handed over the coffin containing the remains of a young man to the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip. Initially, the Israeli side believed this was the handover of the 16th slain hostage in accordance with the ceasefire agreement. However, it soon became clear that this was not the case.
According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, the remains were those of an Israeli whose body had already been buried. This process was a"clear violation" of the agreement. The government will meet with the heads of the security agencies"to discuss Israel's steps in response to the violations," it added.
Family: Abhorrent Manipulation
Israeli media had previously reported that the body handed over on Monday evening was not a new, still missing hostage. According to Israeli sources, the remains handed over by Hamas on Monday belong to Ofir Tzarfati. On October 7, 2023, the then 27-year-old was abducted from the Nova Festival and later declared dead. Parts of his body were recovered by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip in the fall of 2023 and brought to Israel.
According to the hostage relatives' forum, his family confirmed the latest transfer of remains. According to the information, more of the man's remains were already transferred to Israel in March 2024."This is the third time we have been forced to open Ofir's grave," his family said. They called it a"heinous manipulation intended to sabotage the agreement and undermine efforts to bring all the hostages home." The family lives with a wound that keeps reopening.
Netanyahu speaks of"clear violation"
The Hostage Families Forum called for an immediate meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Given Hamas's serious violation of the agreement last night, the Israeli government must not ignore this and must take decisive action against these violations," the forum stated.
As the news site ynet and the Times of Israel reported, Israel is considering expanding the areas it controls in the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli broadcaster Kan, however, any potential measures will only be taken in coordination with the United States. According to the report, reducing humanitarian aid to the population in the Gaza Strip is also being discussed.
Finance Minister threatens arrests
As part of the first phase of the US-driven peace plan, the Islamists were supposed to hand over all 28 dead hostages to Israel two weeks ago, along with the last 20 surviving hostages. However, 13 dead hostages remain in the Gaza Strip, including the German-Israeli Itay Chen. US President Donald Trump increased pressure on Hamas on Saturday to quickly hand over the remaining dead hostages.
In return, Israel was required to release around 250 prisoners, some serving life sentences, including those convicted of murder and involvement in terrorist attacks. According to Palestinian sources, 88 of them returned to the West Bank. Israel also had to release 1,700 Palestinians arrested in the Gaza Strip.
The far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that he would call on Netanyahu to re-arrest all Palestinian prisoners who had been released under the deal and brought to the West Bank.
Hamas has already handed over fake bodies
Hamas claims it is difficult for them to find the bodies because they are buried under the rubble of bombed buildings and tunnels. An Israeli government spokeswoman accused the Islamists of lying, saying Israel knows Hamas could find the remains.
Hamas has previously handed over Palestinian bodies instead of the remains of those abducted from Israel. Whether this was done knowingly or inadvertently is unclear. Two weeks ago, it most recently handed over a Palestinian body instead of a hostage.
In February, as part of a ceasefire agreement, the terrorist organization handed over the body of a Palestinian woman instead of that of hostage Shiri Bibas, who was also a German citizen. The terrorist organization later admitted a possible error and ultimately handed over the correct body.
