Israel Says Hamas Returned Body of Soldier already Buried – Hamas Denies Violation

October 28, 2025 News
Palestinian resistance groups handed over the bodies of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis. (Photo: video grab)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

A Hamas spokesperson said the movement was “committed to completing the first phase of the agreement to prevent the occupation from coming up with excuses” to continue the genocidal assault on Gaza.

Israeli media have reported that the remains of an Israeli captive returned by Hamas on Monday night belonged to a soldier whose body had been recovered in Gaza in December 2023.

“Hamas returned to Israel tonight the remains of a kidnapped soldier who was previously returned for burial – and he is not one of the 13 soldiers whose remains are still in Gaza,” Israeli Army radio reported on Tuesday.

The soldier was identified by Israel as Ofir Tzarfati, whose body was allegedly recovered in December 2023.

The Times of Israel reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying that “this is a clear violation of the agreement” by Hamas. Top defense officials on Tuesday afternoon were to “discuss Israel’s steps in response to the violations,” the statement added.

The military wing of Hamas, the Al-Qassam Brigades, confirmed in a statement on Monday night that the body of one of the Israeli occupation soldiers was recovered in Gaza. Al Jazeera cited a leadership source in the Al-Qassam Brigades as saying that the body was recovered during its search for captives’ bodies in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City.

Later on Tuesday, al-Qassam Brigades issued a statement saying it “will hand over the body of one of the occupation’s captives, which was found shortly before in the path of one of the tunnels in the Gaza Strip, at 8 PM Gaza time.”

Hamas Affirms Ceasefire Commitment

On Monday night, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassam confirmed in a statement that the movement was “determined to hand over the bodies of the occupation’s captives as quickly as possible.”

“We are committed to completing the first phase of the agreement to prevent the occupation from coming up with excuses,” Qassam stated, adding that the handover of 18 bodies has been completed so far.

Why Israel Never Intended to Respect the Gaza Ceasefire – Analysis

He stressed that “limited capabilities are hindering the recovery of the rest.”

“Our people in Gaza have the right to bring in the necessary equipment to recover the bodies of nearly 10,000 martyrs from under the rubble,” the spokesperson stated.

He said Israel’s statements that Hamas knows the locations of the bodies “are false, especially after the landscape of the Gaza Strip has changed due to the aggression.”

Threats from Ben-Gvir

Meanwhile, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir issued a statement claiming that Hamas “continues to play games” by “not immediately” handing over the captives’ bodies.

He said it was “evidence” that Hamas “is still standing on its feet,” adding that “The time has come to break those legs once and for all.”

“Now we do not need to ‘exact a price from Hamas’ for the violations. We need to take from its very existence and destroy it completely – in accordance with the central goal defined for the war of resurgence. Mr. Prime Minister, enough hesitation – give the order!” he stated on X.

Israel’s Ceasefire Violations

The first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas took effect on Oct. 10 under US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan.

Since then, Israel has violated the ceasefire dozens of times, resulting in the killing of 93 Palestinians and the injury of over 300, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The Ministry’s figures indicated that Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza has killed over 68,500 people and injured more than 170,300 since October 2023.

(PC, Anadolu, AJA)

Related Articles