The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas terrorists, announced that they would deliver the body of a murdered Israeli hostage this Monday, recovered the previous day in the Gaza Strip. According to the statement released by the terrorist group, the handover will take place at 8:00 p.m. Gaza time (5:00 p.m. GMT), as part of the commitments made under the ceasefire with Israel.
If carried out, it will be the thirteenth body of a murdered hostage that Hamas has returned since the truce came into effect on October 10. In recent weeks, the group had already returned the remains of twelve Israeli captives and released the last 20 living hostages, in compliance with the first phase of the agreement brokered by the United States and Egypt.
Tensions threatening the truce
El grupo terrorista Hamás entregará a Israel el cuerpo de otro rehén asesinado en Gaza
The handover takes place in a context of renewed tensions. According to The Times of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were preparing for a possible handover during the night, while hostilities continue in several areas of the Strip.
On Sunday, Hamas announced that it had located the body of a captive and would deliver it if "the conditions on the ground were appropriate". That same day, an attack on Israeli troops in southern Gaza left several dead, prompting a series of retaliatory bombings by the Israeli army.
Despite the ceasefire, the IDF reported that they opened fire on Palestinian terrorists who crossed the separation line and posed an "imminent threat" in eastern Gaza City. Local media reported two deaths in the Shejaiya area.
Warnings from the Israeli government
Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas terrorists remaining in areas under Israeli control to evacuate immediately or be attacked. "Any Hamas operative who remains beyond the Yellow Line will be attacked without warning," Katz stated, assuring that the warning was conveyed through the international monitoring mechanism led by the United States.
El grupo terrorista Hamás entregará a Israel el cuerpo de otro rehén asesinado en Gaza
The warning comes after an attack from a tunnel in Rafah, where Palestinian terrorists killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others. In response, the IDF struck 20 targets in the Strip, with at least 45 dead according to sources linked to Hamas, a figure that could not be verified.
The situation in Gaza remains unstable
Although the truce is formally in place, the situation on the ground remains tense. Hamas still holds the bodies of 16 hostages, including that of a soldier killed during the 2014 war. Israel, meanwhile, keeps control of approximately 53% of the Strip (1.2 million people) and has made it clear that it will not tolerate new attacks from areas under its control.
