Hamas to Return Two Hostage Bodies Amid Strained Gaza Truce
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades stated on its Telegram channel that it would transfer the bodies at 4:00 p.m. local time (1400 GMT).
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In a step toward fulfilling the terms of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Hamas's armed wing announced on Thursday it would hand over the remains of two more Israeli hostages. The development comes amid a fragile truce that was tested by a recent surge in violence.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades stated on its Telegram channel that it would transfer the bodies at 4:00 p.m. local time (1400 GMT). This would bring the total number of deceased hostages returned to 17, as part of an agreement for Hamas to repatriate the remains of 28 individuals.
The ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, faced a significant challenge following a shooting incident in southern Gaza on Tuesday that left one Israeli soldier dead. In response, Israel launched a series of airstrikes. Gaza's civil defence agency, which operates under Hamas authority, reported that the strikes killed more than 100 people in what it described as the worst night of bombing since the truce began.
By Wednesday morning, the Israeli military announced it had "renewed enforcement of the ceasefire." Both U.S. President Donald Trump and mediator Qatar expressed confidence that the agreement would hold.
Hamas denied any involvement in the Rafah shooting and reaffirmed its commitment to the truce. However, the group cited the escalation as a reason for delaying the handover of another set of remains, warning that such actions "will hinder the search, excavation and recovery of the bodies."
The process has been marred by previous disputes. Earlier this week, Israel accused Hamas of breaching the truce after the group returned partial remains that Israeli forensic experts identified as belonging to a hostage whose body had been recovered approximately two years prior.
The hostage situation stems from Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which 251 people were taken captive. The ongoing conflict in Gaza was triggered by that assault.
Under this month's ceasefire, Hamas first returned the 20 surviving captives still in its custody before beginning the process of locating and returning the bodies of the 28 deceased hostages.
A central point of contention remains the pace of the returns. Israeli officials accuse Hamas of reneging on the deal by not acting quickly enough. Hamas, in turn, states that the process of locating remains buried under widespread rubble in Gaza is complex and time-consuming. The scheduled handover on Thursday is seen as a critical test of the agreement's durability.
