Israel has issued a stern warning to Hamas, threatening to resume military operations in Gaza if the group fails to fully comply with the terms of a U.S-brokered ceasefire agreement.
The warning, delivered by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, follows the handover of two more deceased Israeli hostages by Hamas.
The militant group said it is currently unable to retrieve any additional bodies from the rubble in Gaza without advanced equipment.
Since Monday, Hamas has released 20 living Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
The group has also returned the remains of nine deceased hostages, seven of whom were confirmed by Israel, with one body not matching the identity of a known hostage.
“If Hamas refuses to comply with the agreement, Israel, in coordination with the United States, will resume fighting to achieve the total defeat of Hamas,” Katz’s office said in a statement.
“We aim to change the reality in Gaza and meet all war objectives.”
In a statement released on social media, Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said it had fulfilled its part of the agreement by handing over all surviving hostages and the remains it could access.
“The remaining corpses are buried under rubble and require specialised tools and effort to recover,” the group stated.
“We are committed to doing so, but it will take time and resources.”
This shortfall in delivering all the bodies, as stipulated in the ceasefire deal, is likely to increase domestic political pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, particularly from the country’s right wing.
Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, has already threatened to block humanitarian aid to Gaza if Hamas fails to return the remains of Israeli soldiers.
Meanwhile, Israel transferred the bodies of 45 Palestinian detainees back to Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, bringing the total number of Palestinian bodies returned to 90, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Under the terms of the Trump-brokered truce, Israel is expected to return 15 Palestinian bodies for every deceased Israeli hostage.
Amid this fragile truce, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher urged Israel to fully open all border crossings to allow critical aid into Gaza.
“We want it to happen now, immediately,” Fletcher told AFP during a visit to Cairo.
“The goal is to ensure children are fed, hospitals have medical supplies, and families have shelter.”
Though Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported that the Rafah border crossing into Egypt might reopen, that has not yet occurred.
Fletcher is expected to visit the crossing point, the only entry into Gaza not controlled by Israel, on Thursday.
Despite the truce, tensions remain high. On Wednesday, Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces, including two civilians attempting to return to their homes in the Shujaiya area of Gaza City.
The Israeli military claimed that the individuals were “approaching troops” in violation of the ceasefire terms and described them as “suspects.”
Troops responded with force to “remove the threat,” the military said.
The ongoing war, triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, has caused widespread devastation in Gaza.
The densely populated territory has seen severe shortages of food, water, and medical aid. In August, the United Nations declared a famine in Gaza, a claim Israel has disputed.
As the ceasefire remains precarious, further political complications loom.
One of the major sticking points in Trump’s 20-point peace plan is the complete disarmament of Hamas, a demand the group has firmly rejected.
While Hamas continues to assert control over Gaza’s shattered urban areas, both Israel and the U.S insist the group will have no role in any future governance arrangement for the territory.
