Hamas returns remains of deceased hostage already recovered by IDF two years ago

Hamas has returned the body of the same hostage for the second time overnight, after his partial remains were recovered by the IDF almost two years ago The terror group handed a coffin over to the Red Cross in Gaza City yesterday. Hamas said only that it was the body of a hostage, without providing a name. But it has now been reported that the identification process found that the remains belonged to Ofir Tzarfati, part of whose body was recovered by the IDF in December 2023. Ofir’s family has been notified by military officials. In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office called the duplicated return “a clear violation of the [ceasefire] agreement”. Prime Minister Netanyahu is set to chair a meeting with security officials later today to “discuss Israel’s steps in response to the violations,” it added. Army Radio also reports that IDF reservists witnessed the terror group "stage" the discovery of the body yesterday. Hamas operatives are said to have dug a hole, brought the body from a nearby building, buried it under a shallow layer of earth and then excavated it as the Red Cross watched. The IDF has not commented on the report, which claimed that the entire incident had been filmed by an Israeli surveillance drone. Latest reports in Israeli media suggests that the IDF knows the location of all 13 remaining hostages and believes that Hamas can access at least 9 of them readily. However, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar has accused the group of delaying hostage recovery in order to stave off its disarmament requirements. He said: “Hamas is barbarically abusing the families who have waited two long years and simply want to lay their sons to rest. We demand the immediate return of all the bodies that Hamas is holding. "Israel is committed to working toward the success of President Trump’s plan. There are difficulties. But we are doing everything we can to work toward its success. "Hamas and Islamic Jihad must lay down their arms. Gaza must be demilitarised. It must no longer be allowed to pose a threat to Israel and its citizens. "This is at the heart of the Trump plan. We will not compromise on it.” The 13 hostages remaining in Gaza have been named as Sahar Baruch, Itay Chen, Amiram Cooper, Oz Daniel, Meny Godard, Hadar Goldin, Ran Gvili, Asaf Hamami, Joshua Mollel, Omer Neutra, Dror Or, Sudthisak Rinthalak and Lior Rudaeff.

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