Journalism of Courage
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday ordered the military to launch “powerful strikes” in Gaza “immediately”, escalating tensions and putting the US-brokered ceasefire at risk.
The directive came after Israel accused Hamas of violating the truce by returning partial remains of a hostage who had already been recovered earlier in the war. Netanyahu called the move a “clear breach” of the ceasefire terms, which require Hamas to return all hostage bodies promptly.
Soon after Hamas’s armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said that it has postponed the planned handover of a missing Israeli hostage’s body, accusing Israel of violating the Gaza ceasefire.
In a statement on Telegram, the group warned that any renewed Israeli attacks would disrupt its search and recovery efforts and further delay the return of Israeli soldiers’ remains.
Tensions also flared in southern Gaza, where Israeli forces came under fire in Rafah and returned fire, according to a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The incident underscored the fragility of the ceasefire, which has held tenuously for weeks amid slow progress in returning the remains of Israeli hostages.
Israel says 13 bodies of hostages are still being held in Gaza. Hamas, meanwhile, said on Tuesday it had located another body it intends to hand over later in the day.
According to the Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Office, the remains belong to Ofir Tzarfati, who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, assault on Israel that triggered the war. Tzarfati was killed in captivity, and his body was recovered by Israeli troops in November 2023. His family later received additional remains for burial in March 2024.
In a statement, the family said this was the third time they had been asked to reopen and rebury their son’s grave. Calling the return of body parts an “abhorrent manipulation,” they wrote: “We have lived with a wound that constantly reopens, between memory and longing, between bereavement and mission.”
The incident marks the second dispute over hostage remains since the ceasefire began on October 10. In the first week, one of the bodies Hamas handed over was later identified as an unrelated Palestinian.
Hamas has claimed difficulties in locating the bodies amid Gaza’s widespread destruction, while Israel accuses the group of deliberately delaying returns.
