The Media Line: Israel Rejects Hamas Claim That Bodies Can’t Be Recovered, International Force Launches Gaza Search  

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Israel Rejects Hamas Claim That Bodies Can’t Be Recovered, International Force Launches Gaza Search  

By The Media Line Staff  

Israel said Thursday that it would intensify efforts to compel Hamas to return the bodies of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, as a multinational team entered the Strip to begin recovery operations under US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan. The announcement came after Hamas claimed it could not locate more remains without heavy equipment to clear rubble — a statement Israeli officials dismissed as false.  

A senior Israeli official told Channel 12 that “there is a double-digit number of hostages that Hamas can return,” contradicting the terror group’s assertions. Channel 13 reported that an international task force, including American, Turkish, Egyptian, and Qatari personnel, had already arrived in Gaza to begin searches using intelligence provided by Israel.  

Hamas has returned nine bodies since accepting the first phase of Trump’s US-brokered ceasefire plan, which earlier this week led to the release of 20 living hostages. Nineteen bodies remain unaccounted for. The deal, signed in Egypt, required Hamas to release “all Israeli hostages, living and deceased,” within 72 hours of Israel’s partial withdrawal, though it acknowledged some remains might be buried under rubble.  

Jerusalem believes Hamas is deliberately withholding bodies. The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel informed mediators it believes the group knows the locations of at least six additional bodies. Israeli officials have debated measures to increase pressure, including blocking construction materials or delaying the reopening of the Rafah Crossing until more remains are recovered.  

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the issue with his advisers on Thursday and later spoke with President Trump, who, according to Israeli media, expressed support for Israel’s planned response. Gal Hirsch, the government’s coordinator for hostages, told families that Hamas “is set to face increased pressure,” though he did not specify what form it would take.  

White House envoy Steve Witkoff reaffirmed Washington’s backing for the recovery efforts, telling a Holocaust Museum audience in Washington that “we will pursue the return of the bodies of the deceased until they all come home.”  

Footage broadcast by Al Jazeera overnight appeared to show Hamas operatives using bulldozers in Khan Younis to search for bodies. Israel maintains, however, that many of the hostages’ remains are recoverable immediately and that Hamas’s delays amount to a breach of the Trump-brokered ceasefire.