Netanyahu to Meet Security Chiefs After Israel Accuses Hamas of Cease-Fire Violation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene senior security officials on Oct. 28 to discuss possible responses after Israel accused Hamas of violating the U.S.-brokered cease-fire agreement by returning partial remains of a hostage, who, according to Israeli authorities, had already been buried two years earlier.

On Monday, Israel received, via the Red Cross, a coffin containing remains of a deceased hostage, later identified as Ofir Tzarfati.

Tzarfati was abducted by Hamas at the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, and, according to the Israeli government, his remains were recovered from Gaza around two years ago, and his body had already been laid to rest in Israel.

In a Monday statement, Netanyahu’s office said the return of Tzarfati’s partial remains “constitutes a clear violation of the agreement by the Hamas terrorist organization.” The statement added that the prime minister would hold “a security discussion with the heads of the security establishment to discuss Israel’s steps in response to the violations.”

Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said on Monday that Hamas had dug a hole in the ground, placed Tzarfati’s partial remains inside, and covered them with dirt, before handing the remains over to the Red Cross.

“The IDF caught the entire sequence of events on a military drone. An act that is deliberate and is a disgraceful deception that is just one of many lies Hamas has been propagating since the beginning of the war,” she said.

According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents relatives of many Israeli hostages, Tzarfati’s body was recovered in November 2023 and brought for burial in Israel. In March 2024, additional remains were returned.

Tzarfati’s family said they were devastated by what they called “an abhorrent manipulation designed to sabotage the deal and abandon the effort to bring all the hostages home.”

“This is the third time we have been forced to open Ofir’s grave and rebury our son,” the family said in a statement. “The circle supposedly ‘closed’ back in December 2023, but it never truly closes. Since then, we have lived with a wound that constantly reopens.”

Cease-Fire Compliance

The dispute over the cease-fire’s implementation comes as the United States continues to monitor the truce between Israel and Hamas brokered on Oct. 10.

Under the agreement, Hamas is required to return all remaining Israeli hostages before the next phase of the peace deal can proceed. There are still 13 bodies of hostages in Gaza.

Hamas has said it is struggling to locate the remains amid widespread destruction in Gaza, while Israel has accused the group of deliberately delaying the process.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned last week that Hamas must return the bodies of deceased hostages “quickly” or face consequences from countries backing the peace deal.

“Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now, and for some reason they are not,” he said in a Truth Social post on Oct. 25.

“Perhaps it has to do with their disarming, but when I said, ‘Both sides would be treated fairly,’ that only applies if they comply with their obligations. Let’s see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely.”

Israeli Military Operations

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli security forces killed three Palestinian terrorists in the occupied West Bank, near the city of Jenin, police said.

According to Israeli police and the Israel Defense Forces, the terrorists were planning attacks in the Jenin area when forces opened fire as they emerged from a cave.

Two of the men were killed instantly, and a third, who was wounded, was killed shortly afterward. An airstrike was later carried out to destroy the cave, the IDF said, without providing additional details.

The IDF said in a statement that the men “took part in terror activity in Jenin” but did not elaborate.

Last week, the IDF said it had carried out a strike in the Nuseirat area of central Gaza on Oct. 25, targeting a member of the Islamic Jihad group accused of planning an attack against Israeli troops.

Netanyahu defended the IDF’s actions during a Cabinet meeting on Oct. 26, saying Israel’s security policy remains entirely under its own control and that the country would not tolerate attacks.

“Israel is a sovereign state,” Netanyahu said. “We will defend ourselves by our own means, and we will continue to change our fate.”

Over the weekend, Egypt deployed a team of experts and heavy machinery to help locate the remains of hostages still believed to be buried in Gaza.