Massive destruction across the Gaza Strip has made it nearly impossible for Hamas to recover the bodies of remaining Israeli hostages buried under rubble. On Saturday, the first Egyptian convoy carrying bulldozers and excavators entered Gaza to assist in the search.
Under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Israel agreed to return 15 Palestinian bodies for every Israeli hostage’s body. So far, Israel has handed over 195 Palestinian bodies, 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 all bodies are returned within 48 hours. He wrote on Truth Social, “Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now—and, for some reason, they are not.”
Search Operations Expand as Rubble Hampers Efforts
Hamas has not released any bodies in the past five days because of severe structural damage across Gaza. The group’s negotiators said many corpses are trapped deep underground, requiring specialized equipment for retrieval.
On Sunday, Hamas expanded search operations into new parts of the enclave to locate 13 remaining Israeli bodies, according to Gaza leader Khalil al-Hayya. Last week, a Turkish convoy entered Gaza to clear debris in Khan Younis, removing over 800 tonnes of rubble caused by Israeli airstrikes.
Officials hope the combined Egyptian and Turkish efforts will accelerate recovery work in devastated areas.
Israel Hits Refugee Camp Despite Ceasefire Agreement
Israeli warplanes struck the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday night, wounding at least four civilians, Awda Hospital officials confirmed. It was Israel’s second attack on the camp within a week.
The Israeli military claimed it targeted Islamic Jihad militants allegedly preparing an attack. Islamic Jihad denied the accusation, saying no such plans existed. Hamas condemned the strike as a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire and accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of undermining the truce.
Netanyahu defended the operation during his Sunday Cabinet meeting, saying, “We act to prevent threats before they are carried out, as we did yesterday in Gaza.”
