Search

‘We won’t wait forever’ for hostage bodies, Israel tells Hamas

Hamas has not returned any bodies of slain hostages for five days, in a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel is losing patience with Hamas’ refusal to return the bodies of 13 deceased hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, with officials saying that the Jewish state will be forced to “take action” should the terror group continue withholding the captives’ remains.

Hamas’ failure to return the bodies violates the terms of the current ceasefire agreement, which was brokered by the Trump administration and signed earlier this month.

The terror group has not returned a single body for five consecutive days. Under the agreement, Hamas was obligated to transfer the remains of all remaining deceased hostages as soon as possible.

The slain captives include two foreign nationals from Thailand and Tanzania, several IDF soldiers killed on October 7, and another Israeli soldier whose body has been held in Gaza since 2014.

Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, a senior Israeli politician stated that Israel “won’t wait forever” for Hamas to uphold its end of the agreement.

“We want to see progress. President Trump gave Hamas a 48-hour ultimatum to make some kind of advancement on the issue of returning the bodies of the kidnapped victims — and we will take action if, in the end, Hamas fails to move forward on this matter,” the politician said.

Read  Hamas said to harden disarmament stance in talks with Trump adviser

Another Israeli official rejected Hamas’ claim that it cannot access the remains. The official told the Post that Hamas knows the location of most of the bodies and could return them immediately, if it wished to do so.

“There may be some bodies that require an operation to retrieve them from underground, and there are others whose burial sites Hamas may not know — but the majority could be returned right now,” the official said.

On Saturday evening, President Donald Trump said he was monitoring the situation. He warned that Hamas has until Tuesday to fulfill its obligations under the ceasefire agreement, though it is unclear what consequences the terror group would face if it does not return the bodies.