Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
Amid escalating tensions and renewed Israeli airstrikes on Rafah, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades the military wing of Hamas announced on Sunday that they had recovered the body of an Israeli hostage killed during prior hostilities. The group expressed readiness to return the body, conditional on the prevailing security situation.
In a statement posted on its official Telegram channel, the al-Qassam Brigades said:
“Today, al-Qassam fighters located the body of one of the Israeli hostages during ongoing search operations. The body will be handed over today, provided that the field conditions allow it.”
The announcement comes as hopes for maintaining a recently brokered ceasefire dwindle under the weight of renewed hostilities. The Brigades warned that any continued Israeli military escalation particularly in southern Gaza could obstruct their efforts to retrieve additional bodies of fallen Israeli soldiers.
“We affirm that any Zionist escalation will hinder search, excavation, and recovery operations, which will consequently delay the return of bodies to the occupation,” the statement read.
Rafah Under Fire Once Again
The development followed a volatile morning in Rafah, where Israeli air raids targeted several areas in response to what the Israeli military described as a “serious exchange of fire” involving Palestinian gunmen. According to Israel’s public broadcaster Kan and Army Radio, the clash reportedly involved sniper fire and an attack on an Israeli engineering vehicle.
The Israeli military responded with strikes on what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in the area. While Hamas denied any involvement in the incident, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a high-level security meeting to assess what was described as a serious breach of the ceasefire.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, the meeting included top military brass and resulted in Netanyahu instructing the army to respond forcefully to the alleged violations.
“Following Hamas’s breach of the ceasefire, Prime Minister Netanyahu has directed the military to act forcefully against targets in Gaza,” the statement from his office read.
A senior Israeli official further warned that the response would escalate:
“There will be an intensification in the attacks, and they will be heavy.”
A Ceasefire in Jeopardy
These developments come against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire agreement that has barely held since being implemented earlier this month. According to the Gaza Government Media Office, Israel has committed 47 violations of the truce since it was declared, including deadly airstrikes and incursions into civilian areas.
Hamas, for its part, has repeatedly denied violating the terms of the agreement. The al-Qassam Brigades reaffirmed on Sunday that it remains committed to the ceasefire and emphasized that no engagement took place with Israeli forces in Rafah from their side.
Strategic Messaging Through Humanitarian Gesture
The offer to return the body of an Israeli soldier may be seen as a calculated move by Hamas to demonstrate its adherence to the ceasefire deal and to highlight the humanitarian component of the agreement, particularly amid accusations that it has been stalling the return of Israeli hostages bodies.
Analysts suggest this gesture may be designed to put pressure on Israel and international mediators to hold Tel Aviv accountable for what Hamas views as repeated ceasefire violations.
But as Israeli warplanes continue pounding Gaza and Hamas clamps down on rival factions in a security campaign of its own, the risk of a complete breakdown of the ceasefire remains high.
The coming days particularly as U.S. and regional mediators continue working to prevent further deterioration will likely determine whether the parties can maintain even a semblance of calm, or whether the region is sliding once again toward a broader and bloodier conflict.
