Israel: "Hamas Violated the Hostage Agreement"
Hamas: "Israel's Accusations Are False"
Israel resumed its military operations in the Gaza Strip on October 28 (local time), citing reasons such as delays in the return of hostage bodies by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Nineteen days after a ceasefire agreement, Gaza is once again being put to the test.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office issued a statement that afternoon, announcing, "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the military to launch an immediate and powerful assault in the Gaza Strip following a security consultation."
Hamas militants are searching for the bodies of hostages in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip. Photo by Reuters and Yonhap News Agency
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated, "Hamas has violated the agreement to return the hostages," adding, "They will pay a heavy price."
Reuters, citing local health authorities, reported that at least eight people were killed in the airstrikes that day.
According to an Associated Press report quoting an anonymous U.S. official, the United States was notified in advance about Israel's airstrikes on this day.
This comes 19 days after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire on the 9th, brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump. It has been 18 days since the ceasefire took effect on the 10th.
Israel resumed its attacks immediately after confirming that the body returned by Hamas the previous night was not one of the 13 hostages still held in Gaza, but rather another body part of hostage Ofir Charpati, who was found dead in December 2023. Israel appears to have determined that Hamas was deliberately delaying the return of the bodies.
In particular, Israel released footage allegedly showing Hamas militants bringing part of Charpati's body from a building, placing it in a pit dug with heavy machinery, covering it with soil, and then calling in International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) personnel to falsely claim they had "found the body."
The Israeli military criticized, "The Hamas terrorist organization is pretending to search for the bodies, but in reality, it is clearly not handing over the bodies as agreed," adding, "The claim that they cannot return the bodies due to a lack of heavy equipment is false."
Additionally, Israel maintains that attacks by Hamas on its troops stationed in the Gaza Strip also constitute a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
In response, Hamas postponed the planned return of a newly discovered hostage body to Israel, stating it was "because of Israel's violations of the (ceasefire agreement)."
Suhail al-Hindi, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said in an interview with Al Jazeera, "Israel must stop its false accusations that we violated the agreement," emphasizing, "We have no interest in hiding the bodies of hostages or delaying their return, and we will fully comply with the agreement."
An Arab official involved in the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas said that talks were ongoing to prevent the collapse of the agreement, adding, "Both sides have violated the agreement, but there have been no major violations."
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