QB delays handing over Zionist captive’s body due to Zionist ceasefire violations
The Qassam Brigades (QB), the armed wing of the Hamas Movement, announced on Tuesday evening that it has postponed the handover of the body of an Israeli captive due to violations committed by the Israeli occupation.
In a statement, the QB said it had discovered the body of one of the Zionist captives today during search operations inside a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip. The body was supposed to be handed over today, but this was delayed due to Israeli breaches.
The Brigades also warned that “Any Zionist escalation will hinder search, excavation, and recovery operations, which will in turn delay the return of the bodies of the dead.”
Earlier in the day, the Brigades had announced the discovery of the body of an Israeli captive in Gaza and noted it would be handed over the same day.
In this context, a resistance source told Al Jazeera that the body of Israeli captive Amiram Cooper was found inside a tunnel in northern Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.
This coincided with a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday evening, confirming that Netanyahu had ordered his military to carry out “strong and immediate strikes” on the Gaza Strip.
On Monday evening, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem firmly denied Israeli media claims that Hamas knows the locations of Israeli bodies and is deliberately withholding them. He called these allegations false, especially given the significant changes to Gaza’s landscape due to the ongoing Israeli bombardment.
Qassem reiterated that Hamas remains committed to handing over 13 more bodies still located in Gaza, including 10 Israeli captives taken since October 7, 2023, one Israeli missing since 2014, and two foreign workers from Thailand and Tanzania.