Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
Israeli airstrikes targeted several areas of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, just hours after the Israeli army announced that three bodies handed over by Hamas through the Red Cross were not those of Israeli hostages.
According to a security source in Gaza, explosions and gunfire were heard in the vicinity of Khan Younis in the southern part of the enclave, where Israeli aircraft reportedly carried out strikes late Saturday. The attacks came as tensions rose over the stalled process of returning the remains of hostages under the terms of the fragile ceasefire agreement that took effect on October 10.
Earlier, the Israeli military said that forensic analysis had confirmed the three bodies received overnight Friday were not among the 11 hostages whose remains were expected to be transferred to Israel as part of the deal. An Israeli army spokesperson told Agence France-Presse that a preliminary assessment on Friday had already suggested the bodies were not those of any known captives, and that subsequent testing confirmed the finding.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said it had offered to hand over “three unidentified remains” in an effort to avoid further delays in the exchange process. “The enemy refused to receive the samples and demanded the entire bodies for examination,” the statement read, adding that the group eventually handed over the remains “to refute Israel’s false claims” that Hamas was obstructing the agreement.
Tensions Escalate Despite Ceasefire
This is not the first time Israel has claimed that remains transferred from Gaza did not belong to hostages. Since the ceasefire began in mid-October, both sides have accused each other of violating its terms. The Israeli government has repeatedly accused Hamas of breaching the truce, while families of Israeli hostages have called on their government to intensify pressure on the Palestinian group to comply with the agreement.
Under the terms of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire based on a plan originally proposed by former President Donald Trump, Hamas is expected to return the remains of 28 hostages it had held. So far, the group has repatriated the bodies of 17 individuals: 15 Israelis, one Thai national, and one Nepali.
The three remains recovered on Friday brought renewed scrutiny to the process, which has been marred by mistrust and mutual accusations. According to Israeli sources, 10 of the hostages abducted during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack are still believed to be held in Gaza, along with the remains of an Israeli soldier killed during the 2014 war.
As part of the ongoing exchange mechanism, Israel is to return the bodies of 15 Palestinians killed during the conflict for each Israeli body it receives, amounting to a total of 225 Palestinian bodies by the time the process is complete.
A Fragile Calm at Risk
Saturday’s airstrikes underscored the fragility of the ceasefire and the volatility surrounding the sensitive issue of prisoner and body exchanges. Analysts warn that continued delays and public accusations could further destabilize the truce and risk reigniting broader hostilities.
The renewed violence comes amid mounting humanitarian concerns in Gaza, where residents continue to grapple with the aftermath of months of warfare, displacement, and infrastructure collapse. As of Saturday night, there were no immediate reports of casualties from the latest airstrikes, but local officials warned that the situation remained tense and unpredictable.
