BODY parts returned overnight by Hamas are not new remains but fragments from a hostage already buried nearly two years ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.
Netanyahu condemned the act as a “clear violation” of the fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
He went on to say that he would convene top security officials to determine Israel’s response.
The remains were identified as belonging to Ofir Tzarfati, who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre.
Nearly 400 people were killed at the festival alone, and dozens were abducted.
In total, the attack left 1,200 Israelis dead – mostly civilians – and 251 hostages taken into Gaza.
“After completing the identification process this morning, it was found that the remains returned last night belonged to fallen hostage Ofir Tzarfati, who was brought back from Gaza in a military operation about two years ago,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
A Hamas official told Al Jazeera the body had been found in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood and handed over to the Red Cross around 9 p.m.
However, Israeli troops operating in the area disputed the account, saying they saw militants stage the recovery by placing the body in a freshly dug hole before contacting the Red Cross as if they had just located it.
Tzarfati was killed in captivity, and his body was first recovered by Israeli forces in November 2023.
His family received additional remains in March 2024.
Two years later, they have been forced to relive their grief.
“This morning we were shown video footage of our beloved son’s remains being removed, buried, and handed over to the Red Cross – an abhorrent manipulation designed to sabotage the deal and undermine the effort to bring all the hostages home,” the family said.
“This is the third time we have been forced to open Ofir’s grave and rebury our son,” they added, describing the ordeal as “a wound that constantly reopens, between memory and longing, between bereavement and mission.”
Netanyahu said the move “violates the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli media reported that possible responses under discussion include halting humanitarian aid to Gaza, expanding IDF control beyond the so-called “Yellow Line,” or launching targeted airstrikes on Hamas leaders.
The discovery comes as the October 10 truce hangs in the balance.
Under the terms of the agreement, Hamas must return all Israeli hostage remains promptly.
In return, Israel has so far repatriated 195 Palestinian bodies to Gaza, fewer than half of which have been identified.
On Monday, 41 unidentified bodies were buried in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, while Israel held a funeral for Yossi Sharabi, another hostage whose remains were returned earlier this month.
Israeli officials say 13 hostages’ bodies are still in Gaza.
Hamas claims it cannot locate them amid the destruction, but Israel accuses the group of deliberate delay.
Over the weekend, Egyptian teams with heavy machinery entered Gaza to assist in locating the remaining bodies, continuing their search on Monday.
Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces on Tuesday killed three Palestinian militants during a raid near Jenin.
Police said the men were shot after emerging from a cave that was later destroyed in an airstrike.
Hamas identified two of the dead as members of its Qassam Brigades, while the third was described as a local commander.
Israel says its intensified raids are aimed at dismantling militant networks, but Palestinian officials and rights groups say civilians have also borne the brunt.
Since the start of the war, the Israeli military says it has recovered the remains of 51 hostages from Gaza.
In exchange for the return of both living and deceased captives, Israel has released about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 250 convicted attackers and many others held without charge.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 68,500 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, though its figures are generally accepted by U.N. agencies and independent experts.
Israel disputes the numbers but has not issued its own count.
The latest exchange has further strained the already fragile truce.
Both senior Israeli officials and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum have urged Hamas to speed up the transfer of remains, accusing it of violating the agreement.
“Hamas knows exactly where every one of the deceased hostages is held,” the forum said.
“Two weeks have passed since the deadline set in the agreement for the return of all 48 hostages, yet 13 remain in Hamas captivity.”
“The families urge the government of Israel, the United States administration, and the mediators not to advance to the next phase of the agreement until Hamas fulfils all of its obligations,” the statement added.
Hamas insists it remains committed to the ceasefire, claiming it is doing everything possible to locate the remaining bodies buried under the rubble of two years of war.
