Hamas hands over bodies of three hostages amid fragile truce tensions

Hamas handed over the bodies of three Israeli hostages on Sunday as both sides accused each other of violating the fragile ceasefire that has largely paused nearly two years of conflict.

According to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli forces in Gaza received the coffins through the Red Cross. The remains are to be transferred to Israel for identification. The three are believed to be among the 11 hostages whose bodies Israel has been seeking under the terms of the truce. One of the three bodies handed over is believed to be of American-Israeli IDF Captain Omer Neutra who was fighting infiltration in southern Israel.

Israel has criticised Hamas for delaying the process, while the Palestinian militant group insists it is operating under extremely difficult conditions. The disagreement has become one of several sticking points hampering the full implementation of the US-brokered ceasefire, in effect since 10 October.

Earlier on Sunday, an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza killed one man near a vegetable market in Gaza City’s Shejaia suburb, according to Al-Ahli Hospital. The Israeli military claimed it had targeted a militant posing an imminent threat to its forces.

“There are still Hamas pockets in the areas under our control in Gaza, and we are systematically eliminating them,” Netanyahu said in a televised address during a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

In response, Hamas released what it described as a list of Israeli ceasefire violations. Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, denied that Hamas fighters had breached the truce by attacking Israeli troops.

Despite the tensions, the ceasefire has brought a measure of calm, enabling hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to the ruins of their homes and allowing greater flows of humanitarian aid into the enclave. Israel has also pulled back troops from key urban areas.

Under the terms of the agreement, Hamas has freed all 20 surviving hostages in its custody in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Israeli jails.

The deal also stipulates that Hamas will return the remains of 28 deceased hostages in return for the bodies of 360 Palestinian militants killed during the conflict. Before Sunday’s handover, Hamas had delivered 17 bodies.

However, violence has not completely ceased. Palestinian health officials report that Israeli forces have killed 236 people in Gaza since the ceasefire began, almost half of them during a single day of retaliatory strikes last week. Israel, which says three of its soldiers have died during the truce, maintains that its operations have targeted Hamas fighters.

Both Israel and Hamas have appealed to Washington to intervene over alleged violations. US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, met Israel’s military chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, in the region on Saturday to discuss developments. Netanyahu stated that all Israeli actions in Gaza are reported to Washington, while Hamas accused the United States of failing to ensure Israeli compliance with the ceasefire terms.

Around 200 US troops have been stationed in southern Israel to monitor the ceasefire and support planning for an international stabilisation force in Gaza, as envisioned in later stages of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

Despite these efforts, progress towards the next phases remains limited. Key challenges persist, including the disarmament of Hamas and the formulation of a timeline for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

With agency inputs