Jerusalem: An Israeli group campaigning for the return of all hostages held in Gaza on Thursday demanded that the government delay implementing the next stages of the truce if Hamas fails to return the remaining captives’ bodies.
In a statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government to “immediately halt the implementation of any further stages of the agreement as long as Hamas continues to blatantly violate its obligations regarding the return of all hostages and the remains of the victims.”
According to the framework, outlined by US President Donald Trump, the next phases of the truce include offering amnesty to Hamas leaders who decommission their weapons and establishing the governance of post-war Gaza.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened late on Wednesday to resume fighting if Hamas did not honor the terms of the US-backed ceasefire that halted the war in Gaza.
It came after Hamas said it had returned all the bodies it could access, and that it would need special recovery equipment to reach the rest of the bodies promised under the agreement.
“As long as Hamas breaches the agreements and continues to hold 19 hostages, there can be no unilateral progress on Israel’s part,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.
“Any political or military action that does not ensure their immediate return abandons the citizens of Israel,” it added.
Since Monday, under a ceasefire agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump, the Palestinian Islamist group has handed back 20 surviving hostages to Israel in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian hostages freed from Israeli jails.
It has also returned the remains of nine of 28 known deceased hostages — along with another body, which Israel said was not that of a former hostage.
![]()
Israel hostage forum urges government to delay next stages of truce if Hamas fails to return bodies
Short Url
https://arab.news/9ycv5
Israel hostage forum urges government to delay next stages of truce if Hamas fails to return bodies
- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened late on Wednesday to resume fighting if Hamas did not honor the terms of the US-backed ceasefire that halted the war in Gaza
Israeli airstrike kills 1 and wounds 11 including students in southern Lebanon
SIDON: An Israeli airstrike on a car in southern Lebanon on Wednesday killed one person and wounded 11 including students aboard a nearby bus, the Health Ministry and state media said.
The strike in the village of Tiri came hours after an Israeli drone attack on the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh in southern Lebanon killed 13 people and wounded several others. The Tuesday night strike was the deadliest among scores of Israeli attacks since a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war a year ago.
State-run National News Agency said a school bus with students happened to be passing near the car that was hit Wednesday morning. The bus driver and several students were wounded, the report said. The identity of the person who died in the car wasn’t immediately clear. The Israeli military did not comment Wednesday.
In the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, just outside the port city of Sidon, life appeared normal Wednesday but Lebanese authorities prevented journalists from entering.
At the scene of the strike, paramedics searched for human remains around a wall that was stained with blood. Several cars were burnt and broken glass and debris littered the ground.
On Tuesday night, the Israeli military said it struck a Hamas training compound that was being used to prepare an attack against Israel and its army. It added that the Israeli army would continue to act against Hamas wherever it operates.
Hamas condemned the attack and denied in a statement that the sports playground that was hit was its training compound.
Palestinian factions in Lebanon’s 12 refugee camps earlier this year began handing over their weapons to the Lebanese state. The government has said that it will also work on disarming Hezbollah but Hezbollah has rejected it as long as Israel continues to occupy several hills along the border and carries out almost daily strikes.
The US has recently increased pressure on Lebanon to work harder on disarming Hezbollah and canceled a planned trip to Washington this week by Lebanese army commander Gen. Rudolph Haikal.
A senior Lebanese army officer told The Associated Press that US officials were angered by an army statement on Sunday that blamed Israel for destabilizing Lebanon and blocking the Lebanese military deployment in south Lebanon. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.
The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon two months ago that severely weakened Hezbollah, followed by a ground invasion.
That war, the most recent of several conflicts involving Hezbollah over the past four decades, killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, and caused an estimated $11 billion worth of destruction, according to the World Bank. In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers.
The strike in the village of Tiri came hours after an Israeli drone attack on the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh in southern Lebanon killed 13 people and wounded several others. The Tuesday night strike was the deadliest among scores of Israeli attacks since a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war a year ago.
State-run National News Agency said a school bus with students happened to be passing near the car that was hit Wednesday morning. The bus driver and several students were wounded, the report said. The identity of the person who died in the car wasn’t immediately clear. The Israeli military did not comment Wednesday.
In the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, just outside the port city of Sidon, life appeared normal Wednesday but Lebanese authorities prevented journalists from entering.
At the scene of the strike, paramedics searched for human remains around a wall that was stained with blood. Several cars were burnt and broken glass and debris littered the ground.
On Tuesday night, the Israeli military said it struck a Hamas training compound that was being used to prepare an attack against Israel and its army. It added that the Israeli army would continue to act against Hamas wherever it operates.
Hamas condemned the attack and denied in a statement that the sports playground that was hit was its training compound.
Palestinian factions in Lebanon’s 12 refugee camps earlier this year began handing over their weapons to the Lebanese state. The government has said that it will also work on disarming Hezbollah but Hezbollah has rejected it as long as Israel continues to occupy several hills along the border and carries out almost daily strikes.
The US has recently increased pressure on Lebanon to work harder on disarming Hezbollah and canceled a planned trip to Washington this week by Lebanese army commander Gen. Rudolph Haikal.
A senior Lebanese army officer told The Associated Press that US officials were angered by an army statement on Sunday that blamed Israel for destabilizing Lebanon and blocking the Lebanese military deployment in south Lebanon. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.
The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon two months ago that severely weakened Hezbollah, followed by a ground invasion.
That war, the most recent of several conflicts involving Hezbollah over the past four decades, killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, and caused an estimated $11 billion worth of destruction, according to the World Bank. In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers.
Latest updates
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.