The previous ceasefire between Hamas and Israel had already been marred by deceit and manipulation, and now, new revelations have deepened Israeli anger and mistrust. During the last truce, Israel had released several Palestinian prisoners in exchange for handing over the bodies of hostages and deceased individuals. However, what unfolded later was an act of shocking betrayal. When Hamas handed over the bodies of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas and her two children, captured during the October 7 attacks, Israeli forensic examination revealed that one of the bodies was not theirs but that of a Palestinian woman. The revelation sent shockwaves across Israel and caused immense anguish to the victims’ families. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vehemently condemned the act, describing it as a heinous betrayal and one of the major reasons that led to the collapse of the earlier ceasefire agreement.
Under the latest ceasefire agreement brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, Hamas had agreed to return the bodies of all Israeli hostages who had been killed. But once again, the group stands accused of deception. On Tuesday, Hamas handed over four bodies as part of the deal. These bodies were delivered after the release of 20 live hostages on Monday. However, following forensic examinations late Tuesday night, Israeli medical officials confirmed that one of the four bodies did not belong to any of the known hostages. This revelation has reignited widespread anger in Israel, with growing protests accusing Hamas of repeated fraud and inhuman conduct.
According to media reports, Hamas has so far released 20 live Israeli hostages and eight bodies since Monday under the Trump-brokered truce. Among the dead were six Israelis, a Nepalese citizen, and one unidentified body. Israeli authorities said they were still awaiting the bodies of 28 more hostages believed to have been killed in Hamas captivity. An Israeli military spokesperson said the army’s forensic units were continuing to verify the identities of all received bodies and warned that Hamas must fulfil its moral and agreed-upon obligation to return all deceased hostages without delay. Prime Minister Netanyahu issued a firm warning to Hamas, demanding full compliance with the ceasefire terms. “We will not compromise on this,” Netanyahu declared. “Israel will not rest until every one of our people, alive or dead, is brought home.” The U.S.-proposed ceasefire agreement required Hamas to release all hostages, both living and deceased, by Monday. If that proved impossible, the agreement stipulated that the group must provide information on the remaining dead hostages and ensure the return of their bodies as soon as possible.
In response, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem claimed via Telegram that the organisation was making every effort to comply with the agreement and hand over all bodies in accordance with the ceasefire terms. However, Israeli officials have dismissed such statements as insincere and intended only to buy time. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had been deployed along border zones in accordance with the operational framework outlined in the ceasefire deal. He warned that the army would “act decisively” against any militant activity along the border. Katz pointed to recent incidents, including the shooting at a group of armed militants on Tuesday, as necessary defensive measures under the circumstances.
Harrowing Testimonies of Survival: Hostages describe Hamas’s brutality and deception
Meanwhile, harrowing testimonies have emerged from the hostages who were recently released under the ceasefire agreement after spending two years in Hamas captivity. Their accounts reveal the sheer brutality and dehumanisation they endured. Many of them described living on a single loaf of bread and a glass of water per day, surviving in dark, suffocating rooms with little to no medical care. Those who resisted orders were brutally beaten. “They treated us like garbage, not human beings,” one released hostage said. “They would pull our hair or drag us by our collars if we didn’t obey.” Several of the freed hostages described constant fear, saying they were repeatedly told they could be executed at any moment. They were frequently moved from one hiding place to another, a tactic Hamas used to prevent Israeli intelligence from locating them. In the beginning, there was some access to food, mainly canned goods, vegetables, and cheese, but supplies soon dwindled. Eventually, four or five hostages would have to share food from the same plate. “We often went to bed hungry,” one survivor recalled.
The living conditions were deplorable. Many hostages were kept in abandoned and damaged houses across Gaza, often hearing Hamas fighters looting nearby homes for supplies. The lack of medicine and medical care was the most distressing part of captivity. Several survivors reported that injured hostages were treated without anaesthesia, using crude tools and in unsanitary conditions. “Some were operated on raw flesh,” said one of the survivors, describing the horrifying scenes they witnessed. The hostages also recounted that Hamas members frequently used narcotics, alcohol, and opium, often appearing intoxicated or unstable. Their unpredictable behaviour heightened the captives’ terror. “We never knew when they would snap,” one freed Israeli said. “Sometimes they laughed, sometimes they beat us for no reason.”
As Israel reels from the fresh betrayal over the bodies and grapples with the horrifying stories from those who survived captivity, national outrage continues to mount. The government faces intense pressure from citizens to hold Hamas accountable and to reconsider the ceasefire framework altogether. For many Israelis, the deceit over the bodies represents not just another violation of trust, but a moral collapse that undermines any hope of peace. As the government weighs its next steps, both the victims’ families and the released hostages stand as living reminders of the unbearable human cost of dealing with a group that, once again, stands accused of manipulating death itself.
