Israeli officials said that a casket handed over by Hamas on Monday night contained the remains of Ofir Tzarfati, a hostage whose body had already been recovered and buried in December 2023. This development means Hamas did not return the body of any of the 13 deceased hostages still held in Gaza, in violation of the terms of the United States-backed ceasefire agreement. The incident has sparked outrage among Israeli officials and families of hostages, with accusations that Hamas staged the handover and continues to withhold information about the remaining captives. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to convene an emergency meeting to discuss possible responses, including increasing military pressure on Hamas. Calls are growing across the political spectrum for Israel to reconsider its commitments under the ceasefire until all hostages' bodies are returned.
image sourced from original article at https://www.timesofisrael.com/casket-returned-by-hamas-had-remains-of-hostage-whose-body-idf-recovered-in-2023-israel-says/Original article source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/casket-returned-by-hamas-had-remains-of-hostage-whose-body-idf-recovered-in-2023-israel-says/
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