It is unclear whether the transferred remains belong to any of the last 11 hostages whose bodies Hamas should return to Israel as part of the deal.
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What bodies did Hamas hand over to Israel?
How many bodies was Hamas supposed to hand over as part of the deal?
Why does the return of bodies cause tension?
What are the accusations between Hamas and Israel?
Under the terms of the first phase of the ceasefire in force since October 10, Hamas was to hand over the bodies of all 28 kidnapped dead. So far, he has released the bodies of 17 people.
Manipulation in connection with the release of bodies
The issue of body donation caused tensions in the implementation of the ceasefire. Israeli authorities accuse Hamas of deliberately delaying this process. Hamas says it wants to return the bodies but is having technical difficulties recovering them.
On Monday, Hamas handed over more remains. After identification, they turned out to be a fragment of the body of a hostage, whose body was recovered by the Israeli army in December 2023. The military published a drone video showing Hamas burying the remains to stage their discovery and hand them over to Red Cross representatives. Israel accused Hamas of openly violating the ceasefire provisions. The Red Cross also condemned the manipulation of remains.
According to the agreement, Israel was to hand over the bodies of 15 dead Palestinians for the bodies of each hostage. So far, Israel has released the remains of 225 people.
Mutual accusations, uncertain agreement
Both sides accuse each other of violating the provisions of the armistice agreement. Israel on Tuesday accused Hamas of firing at soldiers – one of them was killed – and carrying out airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. The attacks killed 104 Palestinians, including 46 children and 20 women, said the local health ministry, controlled by Hamas.
These were the most serious clashes since the shaky truce came into force. The agreement was concluded under the patronage of the United States, which is pressing for its maintenance and implementation of subsequent points of the agreement.
Negotiations on the second phase of the agreement have not yet started. It includes, among others: the sensitive issue of disarming Hamas, one of Israel's main demands. Representatives of the group ruling the Gaza Strip have repeatedly declared that they will not lay down their weapons.
