Hamas says Israel hindering efforts to recover captives
Hamas has accused Israel of obstructing efforts to recover the bodies of deceased Israeli captives, saying it blocked heavy machinery from entering Gaza and prevented search teams – including Red Cross personnel – from accessing key areas.
In a statement, Hamas dismissed Israel’s allegations that it has been “slow” to release the captives’ bodies as a “baseless” attempt “to mislead public opinion”.
The group also accused Israel of trying “to fabricate false pretexts as a prelude to taking new aggressive steps against our people in blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement”.
“In light of this, we call on the mediators and guarantor parties to shoulder their responsibilities in confronting these serious obstructions,” said Hamas.
The statement follows Israeli government claims that Hamas is deliberately dragging its feet in releasing the remains of captives – with the latest return found to belong to a captive whose body was recovered two years ago.
Israel accuses Hamas of ‘staging’ body retrievals
Israel has accused of Hamas of “staging” the return of bodies and “reburying remains” as both sides ramp up allegations of Gaza ceasefire violations.
“Hamas lies. They know where the remaining hostages are. Staged excavations are not only abusive – these violations endanger the ceasefire. Drone footage shows Hamas moving & reburying body remains – then staging a false discovery for the Red Cross to witness,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Netanyahu said human remains handed over by Hamas overnight belonged to a captive whose body had already been recovered by Israeli forces. He convened his defence chiefs to decide on “Israel’s next steps” in response.
Hamas lies. They know where the remaining hostages are. Staged excavations are not only abusive - these violations endanger the ceasefire.
Drone footage shows Hamas moving & reburying body remains - then staging a false discovery for the Red Cross to witness. pic.twitter.com/PBtA7xSOo4
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 28, 2025
What motive would Hamas have to delay or play games ??? These accusations do not make any sense.
And how does a body get doubled?
https://www.timesofisrael.com/troops-recover-body-of-ofir-tzarfati-in-gaza-returning-him-to-israel-for-burial/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/ofir-tzarfati-27-a-pure-soul-who-helped-girlfriend-escape-rave/
Did the IDF leave body parts behind when they recovered the body late November 2023?
Did the IDF make a mistake the first time, or the second time?
The only sure thing is that Hamas is desperate for the peace plan to hold for their survival and that of the Gaza strip.
And Netanyahu is desperate for the ceasefire to fall apart for his own political survival.
