Hamas returned what they claimed were the bodies of four Israeli hostages on Wednesday but one of the bodies was not a match for any of the deceased hostages, Israeli authorities said.
The return of hostages — both living and deceased — is a crucial part of the fragile peace agreement between the Jewish state and the terrorist organization.
“After completing examinations at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the fourth body handed over to Israel [by] Hamas does not match any of the hostages," the Israeli Defense Force said in a statement. The body remains unidentified.
"We will not compromise on this and will not stop our efforts until we return the last deceased hostage, until the last one," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, demanding that Hamas hold up its end of the peace bargain.
As part of the historic peace deal, brokered by President Donald Trump, Hamas was required to not only return the remaining 20 living hostages — which they did on Monday — but also to return the bodies of 28 deceased hostages. Eight bodies have been returned, including the one that does not match any Israeli hostage, and 20 still remain in Gaza.
Trump reiterated that all hostages, both living and dead, must be returned. The initial agreement, according to reports, said that all hostages were to be released by Hamas within 72 hours.
"THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED! Phase Two begins right NOW!!!" the president said Tuesday.
The peace deal also requires Hamas to disarm, which they have so far refused to do. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump said if the terror group failed to disarm within “a reasonable period of time” then “we will disarm them.” Trump’s comments came after videos emerged of Hamas publicly executing a group of men who they claimed were pro-Israeli collaborators.
Israel was also required to return Hamas prisoners as part of the peace agreement. The country began releasing the 1900 prisoners Monday, 250 of whom were facing serious charges such as murder or terrorism.
This is not the first time Hamas promised to return a hostage and sent a different body. Earlier this year, Hamas released a body that was anticipated to be Shiri Bibas, but upon investigation, it belonged to a deceased Palestinian woman.
Israel, in response to the wrong body being sent in place of a hostage, closed the Rafa border crossing between Egypt and Gaza. Hamas persists that it will take time to return hostages, citing overall destruction and the possibility that some hostages ended up in the hands of other terrorist organizations.
 |
Commentaires
Enregistrer un commentaire
Thank you to leave a comment on my site