Source: BBC

DST News: Israel has confirmed that a coffin handed over by Hamas on Monday did not contain the body of a new deceased hostage, but rather additional remains belonging to a person whose body had already been recovered last year.

According to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, forensic analysis revealed that the remains were those of Ofir Tzarfati, an Israeli hostage whose body was retrieved by Israeli forces in late 2023. The office stressed that none of the 13 deceased hostages still held in Gaza were among the remains returned.

The Israeli government accused Hamas of violating the two-week-old ceasefire agreement, calling the act a “clear breach” of the deal. Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister would convene discussions to determine possible retaliatory measures.

Hamas, however, rejected the accusation, saying Israel was “inventing false pretexts” to justify renewed military action. The group’s armed wing announced separately that it planned to hand over another deceased hostage’s body to the Red Cross on Tuesday evening.

The Palestinian faction maintained that it was adhering to the ceasefire brokered by the US, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, and claimed it was still working to locate additional remains “buried under rubble from two years of war.”

Israeli officials, however, insist that Hamas knows the exact whereabouts of all remaining hostages and their bodies, dismissing the group’s explanation as an attempt to stall the ongoing negotiations.