Israel Receives 2 More Hostage Bodies as Anger Mounts Over Delays in Returning the Rest
Hamas on Wednesday night transferred two caskets containing the remains of Inbar Haiman and Muhammad el-Atrash via the Red Cross in Gaza City to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops. The caskets were brought out of the Strip, inspected by the army, draped in Israeli flags, and honored in a brief ceremony led by a military rabbi before police escorted them to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv.
The IDF later identified the bodies and notified the families. Haiman, 27, a visual communications student from Haifa, was murdered by terrorists at the Nova music festival near Re’im on October 7, 2023, and her death was officially declared that December. El-Atrash, 39, a father of 13 from Sa’wa and a tracker in the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade, was killed the same day while battling Hamas near Nahal Oz, and his death was confirmed in mid-2024 following new intelligence.
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Israeli officials expressed anger that not all 28 bodies were returned under the first phase of President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan. Hamas did not identify the remains it transferred, echoing the previous day’s handover in which one of four bodies turned out to be a Palestinian. According to Israel, the terror group is still holding the remains of 19 hostages. The Prime Minister’s Office expressed “deep sorrow” for the Haiman and el-Atrash families and said Israel is “determined and committed” to bring back all fallen hostages for proper burial.
Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz directed the IDF to prepare a comprehensive plan to defeat Hamas should fighting resume. “If Hamas refuses to comply with the agreement, Israel, in coordination with the United States, will resume fighting and act to achieve a total defeat of Hamas, to change the reality in Gaza and achieve all the objectives of the war,” his office said. President Donald Trump told CNN: “If Hamas doesn’t honor the deal, I will consider allowing the IDF to continue fighting as soon as I give the signal.”
A senior US official said Washington does not believe Hamas’ delay in returning the remains of the rest of the hostages has violated the ceasefire terms. Another senior American adviser said, “No one will be left behind—we are doing our best to bring back as many as possible,” adding that a rewards program to help locate remains is likely.
Israeli intelligence shared with Washington indicates Hamas still has access to more bodies than it has acknowledged; two Israeli officials and one US official told Axios the deal cannot advance to its next phase until further efforts are made. Hamas’s military wing maintains it returned all living hostages and the bodies it could locate, saying what remains requires “great effort and special equipment” to find.
