Jerusalem
The IDF has accused Hamas of "faking" the "discovery" of one of the 13 missing hostages, after the terror group handed the military a casket containing the partial remains of a deceased captive, whose body as per the IDF had already been recovered in early December 2023.
According to Israeli officials, apart from its deliberate non-return of all the deceased hostages still in Gaza, Hamas staged the "discovery" of a hostage in front of the Red Cross, by returning to the IDF, partial remains of a hostage already retrieved during the war's start.
Stating that Hamas has access to many of the remaining bodies, the military alleged that the group is intentionally stalling the completion of the first phase of the deal.
The Israeli accusations came after an IDF drone captured a video footage of Hamas fighters bringing out the remains of the deceased captive from a building and putting them in a pit, covering them with dirt, before 'recovering' the hostage in front of the Red Cross workers in the Shejaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City.
Creating outrage across the nation's every corner, voices from across Jerusalem's political – military- social circles have called on the leadership to halt or pause its own commitments under the agreement in response, while far-right officials have called for the destruction of the terror group.
The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that "this is a clear violation of the agreement" by Hamas, as it is obligated to return the bodies of the 13 deceased captives still held in Gaza. (Benjamin) Netanyahu was set to hold a security assessment with top defence officials in the afternoon to "discuss Israel's steps in response to the violations," the PMO added.
In one potential response, Israel is considering moving the so-called Yellow Line that divides Gaza in two, Hebrew media reported, with the IDF taking control of more territory as a way of pressuring Hamas to hand over the bodies of additional hostages, as per state media.
Urging the Knesset to no longer honour its end of the deal, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum issued a statement which read: "Hamas's repeated violations and the IDF's documentation prove what we have known and stated clearly and unequivocally: Hamas knows the location of the hostages and continues to act with contempt, deceiving the United States and mediators while dishonouring our loved ones.
"The Israeli government cannot and must not ignore this, and must act decisively against these violations."
Far-right ministers urged for more drastic measures, and urged Netanyahu to fully destroy Hamas, and renew action.
"The fact that Hamas continues to play games and does not immediately transfer all the bodies of our fallen is in itself evidence that the terror organization is still standing," National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted on X.
"Now we don't need to 'exact a price from Hamas' for the violations. We need to exact from it its very existence, and destroy it completely, once and for all — in accordance with the central goal defined for the War of Revival."
Writing to Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded an urgent meeting of the security cabinet to discuss "forceful responses" to Hamas's continued violations of the first phase of the ceasefire to fully adhere to the "central objective of the war: the destruction of Hamas and the removal of the threat emanating from Gaza toward the citizens of Israel," Smotrich wrote."
This was even supported by former Israeli PM Naftali Benett, a long-time critic and opponent of Netanyahu, urging the current premier to eradicate the group. "Hamas is a cancer. Hamas must be destroyed," he said in a statement.
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