A newly released Israeli drone footage shows Hamas terrorists staging the recovery of a hostage’s body. In a video captured by an IDF surveillance drone, Hamas terrorists are seen dumping the remains of a body in a freshly dug hole before covering it up with sand. They later return to the site with an excavator and a Red Cross team, pretending to have located the body.
The ‘body’ returned by Hamas does not belong to any of the remaining thirteen Israeli hostages. According to Israeli officials, they are merely body parts of Ofir Tzarfati, a 27-year-old engineering student, who was abducted from the Nova festival during the October 7 massacre. In December 2023, Israel recovered Tzarfati’s remains from Gaza in a covert military operation.
“The video shows Hamas operatives bringing a body bag from a building to a hole that was dug in the ground and covering it in dirt,” The Times of Israel reported on Tuesday. “The operatives are then seen digging up the body bag they had just hidden, using an excavator, before moving it and dumping it nearby.”
The incident once again shows how Hamas is trying to dupe Israel and the rest of the world into believing that it cannot find the bodies of the thirteen remaining hostages. The fact that Hamas brought the body from a separate location and staged the recovery confirms Israeli claims that it knows the location of all the bodies.
According to the ceasefire deal brokered by President Donald Trump, Hamas is obliged to return all hostages, dead or alive, within the first 72 hours. With the deal now in its third week, the terrorist group is still holding on to the hostages’ bodies as bargaining chips for further extortion.
Israel’s Ynetnews reported:
Newly released drone footage from Gaza City shows Hamas terrorists staging the return of the remains of slain Israeli hostage Ofir Tzarfati, Israeli officials said Tuesday. The video, recorded Monday afternoon, captures the terrorists placing a white bag containing what appeared to be Tzarfati’s remains in a pit, covering it with sand, and summoning Red Cross representatives within minutes.According to the footage, at 4:07 p.m., based on the drone’s timestamp, several Hamas terrorists are seen taking a white bag from a building and placing it in a large pit that had already been dug at the site. They then pile sand over the bag and move away. Two minutes later, a tractor arrives, scoops up the sand and bag with its shovel, and positions it nearby.At 4:13 p.m., representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross are brought to the location. The tractor lowers the sand and the bag to the ground, and the Hamas terrorists present it to the Red Cross team. After several minutes, the Red Cross personnel step back as the terrorists uncover the bag once again, filming the area and the scene around it.Israeli officials described the event as a cynical display and a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Under the deal, Hamas is obligated to return all hostages — both living and slain — held in Gaza.In recent days, Hamas has claimed it does not know the locations of all the hostages’ bodies or remains. However, Israeli officials said the newly released footage contradicts that claim, showing the group not only knew where Tzarfati’s remains were but also staged an orchestrated performance before handing them over.
Following Hamas’s fake recovery operation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is considering punitive measures, Israel Hayom newspaper reported:
Israeli officials racked their brains Tuesday over how to respond to Hamas’ latest violation after the terror organization returned the remains of hostage Ofir Tzarfati, who was not among the 13 fallen hostages still held in Gaza.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an urgent meeting Tuesday afternoon after his testimony in court was cut short due to security developments.Israel is examining a series of punishment measures against Hamas for repeated agreement violations. Some of the sanctions under consideration include moving the yellow line westward, meaning expanding Israeli-controlled territory; re-entering the Netzarim Corridor to restrict Palestinian movement; reducing aid convoys and limiting entry of goods; and continuing the closure of the Rafah crossing.A first penalty step was already decided when Hamas operatives were banned from working with the Red Cross in Israeli-controlled areas. The move was approved earlier this week to locate fallen hostages.
Hamas violated the ceasefire on Tuesday by attacking Israeli troops stationed in Gaza, Fox News reported.
Israeli media reports confirmed a strong military response to the terrorist attack. “The IDF struck Hamas-used infrastructure in southern Gaza after members of the terror group fired at soldiers, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed on Tuesday,” the Jerusalem Post reported. “Hamas fired an anti-tank missile and gunshots at IDF troops in Rafah, marking an additional ceasefire violation by the terrorist group.”
According to Fox News, Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered a military response to Hamas’s aggression:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered “immediate and powerful strikes” in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday after an Israeli military official told Fox News that Hamas violated the ceasefire.The official said the terrorist group attacked Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers in Rafah.”Following the security consultations, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the military echelon to carry out immediate and powerful strikes in the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu’s office said Tuesday.
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