Ceasefire violation: Hamas caught faking hostage return

Forensic testing revealed that Hamas returned remains from a hostage already repatriated to Israel.

By World Israel News Staff

Forensic testing on Tuesday morning revealed that the remains returned by Hamas overnight — claimed to belong to one of the 13 hostages still held in Gaza — were actually partial remains of a previously deceased hostage whose body had already been repatriated to Israel in an earlier exchange.

According to Hebrew-language media reports, IDF soldiers in the Gaza Strip witnessed Hamas terrorists staging the so-called “discovery” of the deceased hostage. The eyewitnesses said Hamas operatives dumped the remains into a freshly dug hole, then called the Red Cross and pretended to have just found the body.

The Red Cross transferred the remains to Israel, where they underwent forensic testing at the Abu Kabir Institute in Tel Aviv. The results confirmed the remains did not belong to any of the 13 hostages still in Gaza but reportedly matched DNA from a hostage already returned to Israel.

The revelation marks more than a week since Hamas last transferred the remains of a deceased hostage, in a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.

The staged discovery and false claim point to an intentional deception by Hamas, apparently aimed at dragging out the process of returning the remaining bodies.

Under Phase One of the Trump-brokered ceasefire, Hamas is required to return the bodies of all deceased hostages it still holds in Gaza.

On Saturday evening, former U.S. President Donald Trump issued a warning to Hamas on his Truth Social account, saying he was “closely watching” the situation and giving the terror group a 48-hour deadline to return the bodies.

Hamas has claimed it does not know the location of all the bodies — a narrative Israeli intelligence officials reject.

“This agreement isn’t good—that’s the conclusion. Hamas has no incentive to return all the bodies to Israel. The families are living a nightmare,” said Ruby Chen, father of deceased captive IDF soldier Itai Chen.

“Every night we calculate how long it might take to get news. We thought we’d know something by 2 a.m., but it’s another sleepless night.”

Ronen Neutra, father of IDF soldier Omer Neutra — whose body remains in Hamas custody — echoed that pain.

“It’s nerve-wracking, more than two years of ongoing terror. Everyone has this terrible feeling: How long will it last, and how will it end?”

Ceasefireceasefire violationdeceased hostagesHamasRed Cross