Al-Qassam Brigades said they recovered the bodies of two Israeli captives in Gaza but warned that ongoing Israeli escalations are obstructing recovery and handover operations.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas, announced on Tuesday the recovery of the bodies of two Israeli captives, Amiram Cooper and Saher Baruch, during field operations in the Gaza Strip.
According to Al-Qassam, its fighters located the bodies during tunnel operations in southern Gaza and prepared them for transfer to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza City.
Images circulating online appeared to show Qassam fighters handing over the remains to ICRC personnel.
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In an earlier statement on Tuesday evening, Al-Qassam said it had planned to deliver one of the bodies that night but postponed the handover due to Israeli violations of the ceasefire.
The Brigades stressed that continued Israeli attacks in Gaza are severely obstructing recovery operations, warning that “any Israeli escalation will delay the recovery of more bodies.”
The announcement marks the latest update in ongoing efforts to locate the remains of Israeli captives held in Gaza since the start of the war.
Speaking to Al Mayadeen, Palestinian resistance affairs analyst Hani al-Dali said that Tuesday evening’s Israeli strikes on Gaza reflect Israel’s intent to prolong the war.
According to al-Dali, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “seeks to continue his policy of blackmail and to prove that the occupation still maintains security and military control over the Gaza Strip.”
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He added that several factors are impeding the recovery of Israeli captives’ bodies, including the disappearance of some remains, others being located within the so-called “yellow line” area under Israeli military oversight, and the difficulty of retrieving bodies buried deep inside tunnels without heavy equipment.
With only a few bulldozers, Gaza’s civil defense crews have been working to excavate the Israeli bodies. The task is complicated by two factors: the lack of proper equipment, and the fact that many bodies are buried deep under rubble caused by Israel’s extensive bombings of the Strip.
Israel, for its part, has repeatedly violated the ceasefire, killing nearly 100 Palestinians and wounding 344 in 125 documented violations since October 10.
(PC, Al Mayadeen)
In an earlier statement on Tuesday evening, Al-Qassam said it had planned to deliver one of the bodies that night but postponed the handover due to Israeli violations of the ceasefire. — curses! Poor “Israelis”! Al-Qassam delivers and remove another fig leaf to conceal the “Israeli” plan: extermination, not “peace” or “ceasefire”.