Massive destruction across Gaza has made it nearly impossible for Hamas to recover the bodies of remaining Israeli hostages buried under rubble. On Saturday, an Egyptian convoy carrying excavators and bulldozers entered Gaza to assist in the recovery operations.
Under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Israel agreed to return 15 Palestinian bodies for each Israeli hostage body. So far, Israel has handed back 195 Palestinian remains, while Hamas has returned 18 Israeli bodies. Earlier this month, Hamas released all 20 living Israeli hostages.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he is “watching very closely” to ensure the bodies are returned within 48 hours. He stated on Truth Social, “Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now—and they are not.”
Hamas Expands Search Amid Widespread Rubble
For five days, Hamas has failed to locate and deliver more bodies due to Gaza’s extensive destruction. A senior negotiator told Egyptian media that many corpses lie deep beneath collapsed structures, requiring special machinery for recovery.
On Sunday, Hamas expanded search operations to new areas across the Strip to locate 13 remaining Israeli bodies, according to Khalil al-Hayya, the group’s leader in Gaza. Last week, a Turkish convoy arrived in Khan Younis to clear streets blocked by debris. Local authorities estimated roughly 800 tonnes of rubble accumulated from Israeli airstrikes.
Despite the arrival of international equipment, progress remains slow, and humanitarian workers warn that many bodies may never be recovered intact.
Israel Bombs Refugee Camp Despite Ceasefire
Israeli forces struck the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday night, injuring at least four people, Awda Hospital officials reported. It marked Israel’s second strike on the camp within a week.
The Israeli military claimed it targeted militants from the Islamic Jihad group who were planning an attack. The group denied the accusation, calling it false. Hamas condemned the assault as a “blatant breach” of the ceasefire and accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately undermining the peace agreement.
Netanyahu defended the operation during Sunday’s cabinet meeting. “We prevent threats before they are carried out, as we did yesterday in Gaza,” he said, vowing continued preemptive action against militant activity in the enclave.
