Netanyahu says Hamas violated Gaza ceasefire by returning remains not linked to missing hostages
By Tal Shalev, Eugenia Yosef, Ibrahim Dahman, Dana Karni and Mitchell McCluskey
(CNN) — Hamas is in “clear violation” of the Gaza ceasefire agreement after returning remains to Israel that did not belong to any of the 13 hostages still unaccounted for in the enclave, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Hamas has accused Israel of hampering the search for the remaining deceased hostages in Gaza.
Israel identified the remains, transferred by Hamas on Monday night, as belonging to Ofir Tzarfati, a hostage whose body was already recovered nearly two years ago, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
“This constitutes a clear violation of the agreement by the terrorist organization Hamas,” the PMO said in a statement.
Tzarfati’s body was recovered during an Israeli military operation in Gaza in November 2023. His family has now been notified that additional remains of his body were returned. Tzarfati was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023.
Netanyahu is set to convene a security consultation later Tuesday to discuss Israel’s response to the alleged violation.
An Israeli official told CNN that among the options being considered are expanding the so-called yellow line – Israel’s withdrawal line in Gaza – reoccupying additional territory, or retaking the Netzarim corridor, which cuts across Gaza.
Another Israeli source told CNN that any response would be coordinated with the United States, adding that Israel was also considering restricting the flow of humanitarian aid, but Washington opposes such a step.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military released drone video it said showed Hamas operatives burying a white shroud containing a body and then staging its discovery in front of the Red Cross. The military said the footage shows Hamas “is attempting to create a false impression of efforts to locate the bodies” of the remaining deceased hostages.
CNN has reached out to Hamas for comment.
Later in the day, Hamas’ armed wing said in a statement that the group would hand over a hostage body at 8 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET). Al Qassam Brigades did not identify the hostage but said that the remains were “recently found inside one of the tunnels in the Gaza Strip.”
One of the bodies in an earlier exchange was later found not to be that of a hostage, but of a Palestinian from Gaza, though Hamas said it had misidentified the body rather than intentionally sent the wrong one.
Hamas says Israel hampering search
Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official accused Israel of hampering the search for the remaining deceased hostages, telling CNN that Israel had refused to allow joint teams from Hamas and the Red Cross to search areas of eastern Gaza under Israeli occupation.
The official said Israel “deliberately places obstacles in front of the efforts to search for the bodies of its soldiers in Gaza.”
“We call on mediators and guarantor parties to assume their responsibilities regarding the occupation’s obstacles and its attempts to mislead public opinion,” the official said.
On Sunday, CNN reported that the Israeli military had partially withdrawn from a small area it occupied in Gaza to allow Hamas and the Red Cross to search for the remains of Lt. Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier whose remains have been in Gaza since the 2014 war.
Anger has intensified in Israel over the delayed return of the hostage bodies as outlined in the ceasefire deal. Demonstrators have frequently gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square to demand the release of the remaining bodies.
This week, heavy machinery from Egypt entered Gaza to assist in the search for the bodies of the hostages.
Hamas has previously said that it handed over all of the hostage remains that it could access and that “extensive efforts and special equipment” would be needed to retrieve more.
Israeli intelligence has assessed that Hamas may not be able to find and return all the remaining dead hostages in Gaza. But Israel believes that Hamas does know the locations of some of the deceased hostages it claims are missing.
Two senior US advisers said that the US had received assurances from Hamas – through third-party mediators – that they would do everything possible to locate and return the remaining bodies.
‘Not going to happen overnight’
US Vice President JD Vance downplayed concerns about the fragility of the ceasefire but declined to put a timeline on the return of all deceased hostages and Hamas’ complete disarmament last week.
“It is a focus of everybody here to get those bodies back home to their families, so that they can have a proper burial. Now, that said, this is difficult. This is not going to happen overnight,” Vance said at a press conference in Israel.
US President Donald Trump has said that he would consider allowing Netanyahu to resume military action in Gaza if Hamas refuses to uphold its end of the ceasefire deal.
Even since the ceasefire took effect, Netanyahu has maintained that the “struggle is not over.”
Despite the tension, the ceasefire has largely held.
The agreement came under its first major test last week when two Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, prompting Israeli airstrikes on the enclave.
After the strikes, Israel and Hamas both reaffirmed their commitment to the terms of the ceasefire.
A series of US officials have made diplomatic visits to Israel following the ceasefire’s implementation, including the deal’s key architects, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
In Gaza, scores of Palestinians have returned to the ruins of their former homes after two years of war brought widespread destruction.
Thousands of Palestinians are believed to be buried under the rubble.
Hamas has moved quickly to reassert control of parts of Gaza where Israeli forces had withdrawn after the ceasefire took hold. Uncertainty has lingered about the post-war governance of Gaza and security in the territory if the group is disarmed.
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