Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has warned that military operations in Gaza will resume if Hamas fails to uphold the conditions of the ongoing US-backed ceasefire.
The warning followed Hamas’s handover of two additional bodies of deceased hostages on Wednesday. The group explained that it could not recover more remains from the debris in Gaza without specialised equipment.
Tension over ceasefire deal
Under the agreement, which was mediated by US President Donald Trump, Hamas has released 20 Israeli hostages in exchange for the freedom of about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Prior to Wednesday’s transfer, the group had returned the bodies of seven of the 28 known dead hostages, along with another corpse that Israel later confirmed did not belong to a captive.
