Hamas says all reachable hostage bodies recovered amid Israel threat to resume Gaza fighting | Gaza

Amid Israeli threats to continue fighting if ceasefire terms are not respected, Hamas announced that the remains of all deceased Israeli hostages it could reach had been handed back and that it would need special rescue equipment to extract the rest from the ruins of Gaza.

Two more bodies were handed over late Wednesday, along with an eighth body that Israel said did not belong to a former hostage, after Hamas returned the remains of seven of the 28 known dead hostages.

Shortly thereafter, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement on social media that the group had “fulfilled its commitment to the agreement by handing over all living Israeli prisoners in custody and the bodies it could access… while the remaining bodies required intense effort and specialized equipment to retrieve and remove.”

Since Monday, under a ceasefire agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump, Hamas has returned 20 surviving hostages to Israel in exchange for approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prisons.

Israel’s defense minister threatened on Wednesday to continue the war if Hamas does not comply with the ongoing terms of the agreement.

In the statement made by Israel Katz’s office, it was said, “If Hamas refuses to comply with the agreement, Israel will continue to fight in coordination with the United States and will take action to completely defeat Hamas, change the reality in Gaza and achieve all the goals of the war.”

Wanting to keep the pressure on Hamas, Trump said he would consider allowing Israeli forces to continue fighting in Gaza if Hamas does not comply with the ceasefire agreement it brokered.

When asked what would happen if Hamas refused to disarm, Trump told CNN in a brief telephone conversation, “As soon as I say that word, Israel will return to those streets. If Israel could come in and crush them, it would do so.”

Following Katz’s threat, senior US advisers informed the media late Wednesday that Hamas aims to keep its promise to return the bodies of dead hostages.

Advisers noted that retrieving the bodies from Gaza was difficult because they had been “pulverised”, adding: “There was a lot of frustration and anger here when only four bodies were returned and they could just say, you know, we’re moving on… But the next day and the next day, as soon as we gave them the intelligence, they brought the bodies back.”

He said the US and other mediators were working on a reward program for people who help find the bodies of dead hostages. The advisor added that Türkiye, a key mediator in the agreement, was meanwhile in talks to provide experts on retrieving bodies for shipment to Gaza.

Aid trucks entered Gaza on Wednesday and preparations resumed to open the main Rafah crossing on Thursday, but Israel has warned that it could keep the crossing closed and reduce aid supplies if Hamas delivers bodies too slowly.

Far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who opposes the ceasefire plan, said the aid distribution in X was a “disgrace” and accused Hamas of lying about the return of hostages’ bodies, underlining the political difficulties facing Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Aid agencies and the United Nations are calling on Israel to open more crossings to allow “thousands of trucks” into the devastated area every day.

Tom Fletcher, the UN’s most senior aid coordinator, called on Israel to “facilitate the massive flow of humanitarian aid on which so many lives depend and on which the world so desperately awaits”.

“We need the opening of more crossing points and a real, practical, problem-solving approach to removing remaining barriers. We have insisted throughout this crisis that withholding aid from civilians is not a bargaining chip. Facilitating aid is a legal obligation,” Fletcher said.

Aid agencies say thousands of tonnes of aid, including food and medical supplies, have been loaded onto trucks waiting in Egypt or stockpiled elsewhere in the region. It is the only border point connecting Gaza to the world without crossing Israel.

Israel has repeatedly blocked aid from entering Gaza during the conflict, leading to accusations that it is using starvation as a weapon of war. A famine was declared in parts of the region in August.

Aid is desperately needed, with hundreds of thousands of people lacking clean water, food and other basic needs, and many more suffering greatly, humanitarian officials in Gaza City said Wednesday.

The agreement also requires Israel to return the bodies of 360 Palestinians. Most of the 90 bodies returned by Israeli authorities so far showed signs of torture and execution, including blindfolding, handcuffing and bullet wounds in the head, doctors said.

Dr. Head of the pediatric department of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. “Almost all of them were blindfolded, tied up, and had bullets shot between their eyes. Almost all of them were executed,” Ahmed al-Farra said.

The dispute over the return of the remains has the potential to disrupt the ceasefire agreement, along with other major unresolved issues.

Israel has said the next phase of the ceasefire calls for Hamas to disarm and cede power, but Hamas has so far refused to do so. He initiated a security crackdown in Gaza, demonstrating his power through public executions and clashes with local tribes.

With Agence France-Presse and Reuters