Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Hamas of violating a crucial ceasefire agreement by returning the partial remains of a hostage whose body had already been recovered years earlier, intensifying fears that the fragile truce in Gaza may soon unravel. The controversy erupted on October 28, 2025, when a coffin handed over by Hamas was delivered to Israeli authorities, only for forensic tests to reveal that the remains belonged to Ofir Tzarfati—a 27-year-old Israeli-French dual national whose body had been recovered by Israeli forces in late 2023 following the devastating October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
According to the BBC, Netanyahu’s office swiftly condemned the act as “a clear violation of the agreement by the Hamas terrorist organisation.” The prime minister warned that Israel would respond after consulting with his defense chiefs, stating that “nothing is off the table right now, but all of this is in full coordination with the United States.” Israeli media later reported that Netanyahu’s security meeting concluded without firm decisions, but any response would be closely coordinated with the Trump administration, which has been a key broker in the ongoing ceasefire negotiations.
The incident has amplified tensions around a truce that has, so far, seen the release of all 20 living hostages in exchange for about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Gaza. However, the remains of 13 deceased hostages are still believed to be somewhere in the devastated enclave. Israeli officials insist that Hamas knows the locations of all the hostages, while Hamas claims it is struggling to locate the bodies due to the extensive destruction in Gaza and a lack of heavy machinery to sift through the rubble.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told Reuters that “Hamas will continue to exert every effort possible to hand over the remaining bodies until this issue is fully concluded and as soon as possible.” Qassem further explained to Al Jazeera that the group is communicating logistical details through a joint operations room in Cairo and updating mediators regularly. He accused Israel of creating obstacles by restricting the entry of necessary heavy equipment into Gaza, saying, “Now the occupation threatens and vows retaliation. It knows perfectly well that the obstacles preventing the retrieval of more bodies are caused by the occupation itself.”
The Red Cross and an Egyptian technical team equipped with excavators and bulldozers joined the search efforts over the weekend, after receiving approval from Netanyahu. According to CBS News, the Red Cross confirmed that its staff were accompanying recovery teams on the ground. Despite these efforts, Israeli officials remain skeptical, with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accusing Hamas of “attempting to create a false impression of efforts to locate the bodies, while in fact holding deceased hostages whose remains it refuses to release as required by the agreement.” The IDF released drone footage that it says shows Hamas operatives removing remains from a pre-prepared structure, burying them nearby, and then staging a false display of discovering a deceased hostage’s body.
The family of Ofir Tzarfati expressed deep anguish at what they described as a cruel deception. “This morning we were shown video footage of our beloved son’s remains being removed, buried, and handed over to the Red Cross—an abhorrent manipulation designed to sabotage the deal and abandon the effort to bring all the hostages home,” the family said in a statement, as reported by the BBC. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, representing many relatives of those abducted, demanded an urgent meeting with Netanyahu and pressed for decisive action. “Hamas’s repeated violations and the IDF’s documentation prove what we have known and stated clearly and unequivocally: Hamas knows the location of the hostages and continues to act with contempt, deceiving the United States and mediators while dishonouring our loved ones,” the Forum stated.
Hamas, for its part, has denied any deliberate stalling, insisting that it is complying with the ceasefire agreement brokered by the US, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey. The group has cited the destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure as a major barrier to recovery efforts. On Saturday, Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s chief negotiator, told mediators that Israeli attacks had “altered the terrain of Gaza” and that “some of those who buried the bodies have been martyred or no longer remember where they buried them.”
Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian emphasized that Hamas would face “serious repercussions” if it failed to return the bodies of all deceased hostages within 72 hours of the ceasefire taking effect on October 10, 2025. One possible response reportedly under consideration is expanding the area of Gaza under IDF control, demarcated by the so-called “Yellow Line.” Public broadcaster Kan News noted that Israel’s first step might be to halt the entry of Hamas members and Red Cross representatives into IDF-controlled territory to assist with recovery efforts.
President Trump, who has played a central role in brokering the ceasefire, warned on October 25 that he was “watching very closely” to ensure Hamas returned the bodies. “Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now and, for some reason, they are not,” he posted on his Truth Social network.
The issue of the hostages’ remains is deeply emotional for both Israeli and Palestinian families. Israel has handed back 195 Palestinian bodies—fewer than half of which have been identified—in return for its dead hostages. Of the deceased hostages still missing in Gaza, eleven are Israelis, one is Tanzanian, and one is Thai. All but one were abducted during the October 7, 2023, attack, which killed about 1,200 people and triggered the ongoing Gaza war. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, more than 68,500 people in Gaza have been killed since the conflict erupted.
Despite the ceasefire in Gaza, violence has continued to flare in the occupied West Bank. On October 28, Israeli authorities reported killing three Palestinian militants near Jenin after they left a cave. The military said the men were involved in “terror activity,” and an airstrike later destroyed the cave. Hamas condemned the strike but did not confirm the men’s affiliation.
As the region remains on edge, the fate of the remaining hostages’ bodies hangs in the balance, with families on both sides desperate for closure and governments weighing their next moves. The fragile truce, already battered by mistrust and mutual accusations, faces a critical test as both Israel and Hamas grapple with the complexities of war, recovery, and reconciliation.
For now, the world watches closely, hoping that the promise of peace might yet outweigh the burdens of the past—and that the families of the missing will finally find the answers they so desperately seek.
