TEL AVIV/GAZA CITY —
Israel on Tuesday launched new strikes on the Gaza Strip after Hamas
announced a delay in handing over the remains of an Israeli hostage, citing
what it called violations of the ceasefire agreement.
“Following security consultations, Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu instructed the military to immediately carry out powerful strikes
in the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli leader’s office said in a statement.
The escalation came after Hamas said it would postpone
the return of a hostage body scheduled for Tuesday, accusing Israel of
breaching the truce.
“We will postpone the handover that was scheduled for
today due to the occupation’s violations,” Hamas’s armed wing said, warning
that further Israeli attacks could hinder ongoing search and recovery
operations.
Under the ceasefire deal that took effect on October
10, Hamas agreed to return 28 hostage bodies. Late Monday, it handed over
what it claimed was the 16th body — but Israeli forensic experts determined the
remains belonged to Ofir Tzarfati, a hostage whose body had already
been recovered nearly two years ago.
Netanyahu’s office called the move a “clear
violation” of the truce agreement.
“Identification procedures revealed the latest remains
belonged to the fallen hostage Ofir Tzarfati, who had been returned from the
Gaza Strip in a military operation about two years ago,” the statement said.
Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian
accused Hamas of staging the handover, alleging the group “dug a hole,
placed the partial remains inside, and handed it to the Red Cross.”
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged
the Israeli government to respond decisively, calling Hamas’s actions “a severe
breach of the agreement.”
Hamas denied intentionally violating the deal, saying
Israeli bombardments during the war had made it difficult to locate remains.
“The movement is determined to hand over the bodies of
the Israeli captives as soon as possible once they are located,” Hamas
spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP.
Hamas said it had fulfilled its obligation to
return all 20 living hostages, as stipulated in the truce, and accused
Israel of its own ceasefire violations. The Gaza health ministry said at least 94
Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire since the truce began.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar
Ben Gvir accused Hamas of “stalling” and called for harsher retaliation,
saying on X, “It is time to break its legs once and for all.”
The October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel killed 1,221
people, mostly civilians, and led to the taking of 251 hostages,
according to official Israeli figures. Israel’s subsequent military campaign in
Gaza has killed at least 68,531 people, according to the Hamas-run
health ministry, figures the UN considers credible.
Tzarfati, one of the victims of the Nova music
festival massacre, was abducted and killed on October 7. His family said
this was the third time his remains had been returned, following
recoveries in December 2023 and March 2024.
“This is the third time we have been forced to open Ofir’s grave and rebury our son,” the family said. “The circle supposedly closed back in 2023, but it never truly closes.”
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