Israel vehemently denied Hamas’ claims that one of the bodies released on Tuesday was that of a slain soldier captured last year — reiterating that no such hostage exists while demanding the terror group keep its end of the peace deal.
Outrage exploded in Israel early Wednesday when forensic analysts found that one of the four bodies released by Hamas did not match any of the people kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023 — prompting the Jewish state to accuse the terror group of violating the US-backed cease-fire deal.
Hamas, however, claims that the body belongs to an Israel Defense Forces soldier who was captured and killed during a shootout in the Jabalia refugee camp in May 2024, an incident that has long been disputed by Israel.
Hamas released four bodies on Tuesday as part of the cease-fire deal — but one of the corpses did not match any of the hostages, Israel said. AFP via Getty Images
Hamas insists that the fourth body belongs to a slain Israeli soldier from a 2024 incident that the IDF denies ever happened. APAt the time, Hamas military spokesman Abu Ubaida claimed that its forces stationed around one of Gaza’s largest refugee camps successfully attacked a group of Israeli soldiers operating in the area.
“Our fighters lured a Zionist force into an ambush inside a tunnel … The fighters withdrew after they left all members of the force dead, wounded and captured,” Ubaida told Al Jazeera.
Hamas went on to release a video of the aftermath, showing its members hauling a bloodied body along the ground in a tunnel, with the dead man photographed in military fatigues and holding a rifle.
The IDF has repeatedly slammed the claims as false, saying no such ambush ever took place and that all of its soldiers during the war have been accounted for.
Hamas claimed it captured a dead Israeli soldier on May 26, 2024, around the Jabalia refugee camp. Anadolu via Getty ImagesIndependent outlets had never verified the episode, with the IDF noting that the body shown by Hamas was equipped with weapons and gear not issued by the Israeli military.
The mystery body released by Hamas has yet to be identified.
Tuesday’s mix-up echoed the trauma caused earlier this year when Hamas released — with great fanfare — the body of slain mother Shiri Bibas, which instead turned out to be a Palestinian woman.
The family of Guy Illouz finally buried their son after more than two years in Hamas captivity. REUTERSIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the mistake as a failure by Hamas to keep up its end of the cease-fire agreement — which calls on the terror group to make every effort possible to release the bodies of the remaining 21 hostages.
“We will not compromise on this and will not stop our efforts until we return the last deceased hostage, until the last one,” he vowed.
Hamas had previously said it needed additional time to locate and return all the hostages due to the widespread destruction in Gaza and because some captives were taken by other terrorist organizations.
With Post wires
