Israel says return of misidentified body breaches Gaza deal, mulls response

By returning remains from a previously recovered captive, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Hamas had “clearly violated” the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

The already strained ceasefire agreement has been stymied by Netanyahu’s announcement on Tuesday, which has sparked concerns about the nature of Israel’s response.

The Israeli leader called for a hearing in his ongoing corruption trial to be called off later in the day. He also promised to call top security officials for an urgent discussion later in the day.

According to Netanyahu, the 13 dead captives who have not yet been returned do not have access to the most recent remains that Hamas has handed over. He instead claimed that the captive’s injuries were those of a captive whose body had been recovered by Israeli forces almost two years ago.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged the re-arrest of Palestinians in exchange for “repairs” in response to Hamas’s repeated and ongoing violations, while Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet called for harsh measures in response.

According to Itamar Ben-Gvir, national security minister, it is appropriate to “destroy]Hamas] completely.”

According to Israeli media, other options include limiting the humanitarian aid’s already constrained flow to Gaza, extending Israeli control of the region, or ordering airstrikes against Hamas leaders.

Family members experience grieving.

Ofir Tzarfati, an Israeli kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, was identified as the owner of the remains that Netanyahu delivered on Monday as having been delivered by Hamas.

In November of this year, Israeli forces recovered his body. His family received additional remains for burial in March 2024.

The family of Tzarfati said in a statement that we were forced to rebury our son and open Ofir’s grave three times.

The main organization representing the families of Israeli captives, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, demanded an urgent meeting with Netanyahu and stated that Hamas could not be “given a pass for violating the agreement.”

The organization charged Hamas with “cynical manipulation” and “dishonoring our loved ones” in a statement.

The group argued that the Israeli government must take action immediately to stop these violations and cannot ignore this.

According to the ceasefire agreement, Hamas agreed to give Israel access to the remains of captives, but 13 bodies have not yet been returned, which challenges the implementation of the next steps.

Hamas claims that in spite of Israel’s extensive destruction in Gaza, it is still trying to locate the bodies, despite the arrival of heavy equipment from Egypt in recent days.

The organization announced on Tuesday that it had recovered another body from a tunnel under the Gaza Strip in the messaging app Telegram. The handover was scheduled for 8 p.m. local time (18:00 GMT).

Ceasefire appears secure, according to an analyst.

Nour Odeh, a reporter for Al Jazeera from Amman, Jordan, reported that Hamas’ allies and opponents had been calling for sanctions over the issue.

She claimed that even the opposition is pushing for Netanyahu because they believe this should not be left unanswered and that Hamas has purposefully delayed the body’s return.

With the United States and its regional partners having been so heavily invested in the ceasefire agreement, according to Israeli political analyst Ori Goldberg, it was unlikely that the conflict would completely scuttle the deal.