Israeli forces came under fire in southern Gaza Tuesday afternoon, in what officials described as another serious breach of the ceasefire agreement.
The IDF responded by striking targets in the area, including terrorist infrastructure and tunnel shafts, and is expected to approve a broader list of strike targets.
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Searching for remains of Israeli hostages in Khan Younis
(Photo: REUTERS/Haseeb Alwazeer)
Earlier, Hamas announced it would transfer the remains of an Israeli hostage "recovered from a tunnel in Gaza a short while ago" at 8 p.m., following what Israeli officials described as a serious breach of the ceasefire agreement.
Palestinian sources reported the tunnel was located in the Hamad neighborhood near Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Footage from international news agencies showed masked Hamas operatives at a tunnel entrance, with at least two wearing oxygen tanks and digging at the site.
The move comes after Hamas returned additional remains of Ofir Tzarfati, whose body was recovered in an IDF operation in Gaza in 2023. Israeli drone footage captured Hamas operatives burying Tzarfati’s remains in a prepared pit, only to later unearth them in front of Red Cross representatives—creating what Israeli officials called a “staged and deceptive display.”
The 15-minute video, published by the IDF on Tuesday, shows operatives discarding a white bag—believed to contain human remains—into a hole under a building and covering it with sand, then summoning a tractor and Red Cross personnel to simulate a discovery.
Drone footage showing Hamas terrorists staging handover of hostage remains
(Video: IDF)
Israeli officials accused Hamas of staging the retrieval, saying the group violated the ceasefire understanding by concealing the body and only coordinating its transfer once it had been unearthed.
The developments come amid growing frustration in Israel over what it says are repeated ceasefire violations by Hamas. Under the agreement, the terrorist group was obligated to return all hostages in its custody—both living and deceased—within 72 hours. While all 20 surviving hostages have been released, only 15 of the 28 known dead have been returned in piecemeal fashion.
Israeli officials say Hamas is capable of returning more bodies immediately and accuse the group of withholding them deliberately. Hamas claims it lacks access to the remains or does not know their exact locations, assertions Israel calls false.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a high-level meeting Tuesday to discuss response options, including three scenarios: reducing humanitarian aid to Gaza (which may face U.S. resistance), expanding Israeli military control in parts of the enclave and resuming military operations—a move that risks derailing the entire ceasefire framework. A further security consultation was expected later in the evening.
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Searching for remains of Israeli hostages in Khan Younis
(Photo: AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
U.S. President Donald Trump, who brokered the ceasefire, had issued a 48-hour deadline to Hamas last weekend. Monday’s announcement of a new handover—later revealed to be Tzarfati’s remains—was made just before that deadline expired. After the staged nature of the return was uncovered, Israeli officials reiterated their warnings that continued violations would be met with consequences, pending U.S. approval.
In the IDF’s statement accompanying the video, the military said: “Contrary to Hamas' claims of difficulties locating the bodies of the deceased hostages, yesterday (Monday) Hamas operatives were documented removing body remains from a structure that had been prepared in advance and burying them nearby. Shortly thereafter, the Hamas terrorist organization summoned representatives of the Red Cross and staged a false display of discovering a deceased hostage’s body."
The military added that Hamas’ repeated claims of lacking engineering equipment were irrelevant to the return of the remains shown in the video and do not justify its failure to comply with the ceasefire obligations.