Massive destruction across Gaza has made it nearly impossible for Hamas to recover the bodies of Israeli hostages buried under rubble. On Saturday, Egypt sent its first convoy carrying excavators and bulldozers into Gaza to assist in the search.
The US-brokered ceasefire deal requires Israel to return 15 Palestinian bodies for each Israeli body recovered. So far, Israel has handed over 195 Palestinian corpses, while Hamas has returned 18 Israeli bodies. Earlier this month, Hamas released all 20 living Israeli hostages as part of the agreement.
US President Donald Trump said he is monitoring the situation closely to ensure the remaining bodies are returned within 48 hours. “Some bodies are hard to reach, but others can be returned now—and for some reason, they are not,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Search Efforts Expand Amid Widespread Destruction
In the last five days, Hamas has failed to release additional bodies because the destruction has severely obstructed recovery operations. The group’s top negotiator told Egyptian media that corpses remain trapped deep beneath collapsed structures and require heavy machinery for retrieval.
On Sunday, Hamas expanded its search operations to new areas of the Gaza Strip to locate the remaining 13 bodies, said Khalil al-Hayya, the group’s chief in Gaza. Last week, Turkish crews entered Gaza to help clear debris from Khan Younis, removing about 800 tonnes of rubble caused by Israeli airstrikes.
Local officials say many residential blocks remain inaccessible, forcing search teams to coordinate with international partners for specialized recovery tools.
Israel Strikes Nuseirat Refugee Camp Despite Ceasefire
Israeli forces bombed the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday night, injuring at least four people, according to Awda Hospital officials. The strike marked the second Israeli attack on the camp in one week.
The Israeli military said it targeted militants from the Islamic Jihad group allegedly planning an assault on Israeli troops. Islamic Jihad denied any such preparations. Hamas condemned the strike as a violation of the ceasefire, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of attempting to undermine peace efforts.
Netanyahu defended the operation during his weekly Cabinet meeting. “We prevent threats before they occur, as we did yesterday in Gaza,” he said, insisting Israel acted to stop imminent danger to its forces.
