Hamas released three more bodies Sunday after last week’s botched handover that involved no corpses of hostages and helped prompt renewed Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
The terrorist group handed over a trio of caskets to the Red Cross, claiming that this time they really do contain the remains of three of the 11 hostages whose bodies are still unrecovered — a similar statement to Friday’s exchange that turned out to be false, according to Israeli officials.
The handoff took place a few hours after an airstrike hit Gaza City, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing Hamas of operating inside an area currently occupied by his troops.
“There are still Hamas pockets in the areas under our control in Gaza, and we are systematically eliminating them,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
The Israel Defense Force said the airstrike hit a militant who posed a threat to its soldiers, with the Al-Ahil Hospital reporting that one man died from the attack, which struck a vegetable market in the Shejaia suburb.
Hamas has denied the allegations that its fighters attacked Israeli soldiers in Gaza City.
Sunday’s fighting is the latest in what has become a weekly pattern amid the US-brokered peace deal, with Israel and Hamas repeatedly clashing after accusing the other of violating the terms of the agreement.
The fragile cease-fire saw its latest shake-up Friday after Israeli forensic scientists found that three bodies released by Hamas belonged to none of the hostages kidnapped Oct. 7, 2023.
Friday’s debacle marked the third time Hamas handed over the wrong remains under the current truce, inciting fury from Israel and repeated warnings from President Trump, who maintains that the peace will hold despite the incidents.
Hamas insists that it needs more time and assistance in locating the slain hostages across war-torn Gaza, with Egyptian excavators currently operating inside the Strip to help.
The terror group is now accusing the US of not doing enough to keep the cease-fire alive as its health officials estimate that at least 236 people have died in Israeli airstrikes since the truce took hold last month.
With Post wires
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