Hostage family decries ‘despicable’ fake retrieval & handover of remains of Ofir Tzarfati

The family of Ofir Tzarfati, a former hostage whose body had already been buried, decried the "despicable" nature of Hamas' psychological torture after the terror group transferred on Monday night further body parts belonging to Ofir, instead of the body of another deceased hostage.

“We went to sleep last night full of hope and expectation that another family would finally close a painful two-year circle and bring their loved one home for burial. But once again, manipulation was carried out at the expense of our family, which is still trying to heal,” the Tzarfati family stated.

Ofir Tzarfati (27) was shot and wounded when he was kidnapped from the Nova festival on Oct. 7. He died in captivity and on Dec. 1, 2023, the IDF announced it had retrieved his body from Gaza.

However, Israel stated that a casket handed over by Hamas on Monday night contained parts of Tzarfati’s remains, rather than one of the 13 hostage bodies remaining in Gaza.

An Israeli military drone video shows Hamas staging the recovery of the remains of a hostage it returned to Israel last night.

The remains were identified as belonging to Ofir Tzarfati, whose body was recovered by the IDF in the Gaza Strip in December 2023, less than two months… pic.twitter.com/wGYSInwPQq

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 28, 2025

Even worse, Army Radio reported that Hamas had earlier staged a fake retrieval of the remains for the benefit of Red Cross representatives.

“This morning we were shown the video in which the remains of our beloved son are exhumed, buried again, and presented to the Red Cross – a vile act of deception meant to sabotage the deal and abandon the effort to bring back all the hostages,” the family said.

According to a report by Army Radio citing IDF reservists, an Israeli drone identified a Hamas tractor excavating near the ceasefire “Yellow Line” on Monday afternoon, in the area of Gaza’s Shejaiya neighborhood.

According to the reservists, they saw Hamas operatives digging a pit before taking the remains of a body from a nearby building and burying it in the pit.

Then, the operatives called Red Cross representatives to the scene and showed them how they “discovered” and retrieved the body from the pit they had dug earlier.

“According to the fighters who spoke with us, the entire incident is documented by an IDF drone,” said Army Radio’s military correspondent, Doron Kadosh.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a high-level security meeting on Tuesday to discuss possible responses to Hamas’s actions.

The family of Hadar Goldin, whose body has been held by Hamas since the 2014 war, said that “this deception is an act of terrorism – and this time, it is directed against U.S. President Donald Trump,” referring to his central role in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum demanded a meeting with the prime minister “in light of Hamas’s violations, its despicable actions, and its cynical use of the hostages – including the deception of the Red Cross.”

Speaking on Army Radio on Tuesday morning, Bar, the daughter of Manny Godard, whose body is still in Gaza, said she was “thinking about the family – a family has to reopen the grave, and reopen the wound. It’s unimaginable. This abuse must stop. The mediators must use every leverage they can.”

The Tzarfati family said that “This is the third time we have been forced to reopen Ofir’s grave and rebury our son. The circle was supposedly ‘closed’ back in December 2023, but it never truly closes. Since then, we have lived with a wound that constantly reopens – caught between memory and longing, between bereavement and mission.”

“Our Ofiri went to the Nova festival to celebrate a birthday – and never came back. We ask all the people of Israel: do not forget the fallen, do not forget the hostages. Continue to support the families until their return – and even afterward. Only then will we have a future. Only then can we continue living in our country.”