One of the bodies handed over by Hamas terrorists as part of the Middle East ceasefire deal turned out not to belong to any of the Israeli hostages who were held in Gaza, the Israeli military confirmed Wednesday.
Under the terms of the first phase of President Donald Trump’s negotiated Gaza peace plan, Hamas was required to return all 48 remaining hostages — both the living and the deceased. So far, Israel has received 20 living hostages and the bodies of seven victims. But the latest transfer revealed a grim and troubling twist: one of the four bodies delivered Tuesday night was not one of the hostages at all.
AP identified the three confirmed hostages as Tamir Nimrodi, Eitan Levi, and Uriel Baruch, but the IDF announced that one additional body did not match any known hostage record after a full examination by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine.
The revelation has stirred both grief and anger in Israel. Families of hostages gathered again at Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, demanding accountability from Hamas and full compliance with the ceasefire’s humanitarian terms.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the deception and vowed that Israel would not relent until every hostage — living or deceased — is brought home.
“We will not compromise on this and will not stop our efforts until we return the last deceased hostage, until the last one,” Netanyahu said.
This episode underscores the pattern of cruelty and manipulation that has defined Hamas’s behavior throughout the conflict. The terrorist group has repeatedly used civilians — both living and dead — as political leverage, defying international norms and basic human decency.
This is not the first time Hamas has handed over the wrong body. Earlier this year, the group claimed to have returned Shiri Bibas, 33, and her two young children, Ariel, 5, and Kfir, 2, during a previous ceasefire. Israel endured another devastating shock when tests revealed that one of the supposed bodies belonged instead to a Palestinian woman. Bibas’ body was only returned and identified a day later.
Israel continues to await the return of 28 additional deceased hostages, with no clear timeline on when — or if — Hamas will fulfill its obligations under the Trump-brokered agreement.
The latest deception highlights why many Israelis and allies across the free world remain deeply skeptical about negotiating with terrorist organizations. Each broken promise and false gesture reminds the world what Israel is up against — an enemy that not only targets innocents but desecrates the dignity of the dead in pursuit of political gain.
