Israel weighs harsh response after Hamas hands over remains of previously returned Israeli hostage

The remains that were handed over to Israel by the terror organization Hamas overnight belonged to the body of Israeli hostage Ofir Tzarfati, who had previously been returned and buried, Israeli officials confirmed Tuesday morning.

"After the completion of the identification process this morning, it was determined that last night remains belonging to the fallen hostage Ofir Tzarfati were returned — remains that had already been brought back from Gaza in a military operation about two years ago. The family has been notified," the Prime Minister's Office stated.

"This constitutes a clear violation of the agreement by the terrorist organization Hamas. Prime Minister Netanyahu will hold a security consultation with the heads of the defense establishment to discuss Israel’s response to these violations."

After six days without returning any of the 13 hostage bodies the terror group still holds in Gaza, Hamas announced it would hand over a casket late Monday evening.

The remains were transferred into Israeli territory by the IDF and taken to the National Institute for Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir for identification around midnight.

However, in the morning, it was reported that the remains belonged to Tzarfati, who was kidnapped on Oct. 7 from the Nova music festival and murdered in Hamas captivity. His body was retrieved from Gaza by IDF troops in November 2023.

Israel is now weighing a harsh response to the provocation. “This cannot go without a response,” an Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on the way to give another court testimony when the reports were published. The judges later granted a request to cut short his testimony so that he could convene the security cabinet to discuss the issue.

The meeting will include Israel’s top security leadership, Army Radio reported, and the military will present three main options to the prime minister. These reportedly include limiting humanitarian aid, taking control of more territory in the Gaza Strip, and more targeted eliminations of Hamas leaders.

However, a senior security source told the outlet: “Much depends on receiving a green light from the United States for imposing sanctions on Hamas. It is not certain that the U.S. will approve.”

Even more incensing were earlier reports by Army Radio, which quoted IDF reservists who testified that Hamas might have staged the “discovery” of the remains that were transferred later on Monday.

Several politicians called on the prime minister to respond harshly to Hamas’ violation of the ceasefire terms.

The group has been slow-walking the return of the remaining hostage bodies, claiming it doesn’t know their locations. Meanwhile, Israel estimates that the terror group either holds or knows the locations of nearly all remaining bodies.

Blue and White leader Benny Gantz wrote on 𝕏: “Hamas's violations cannot remain without a harsh response – otherwise, we have done nothing and returned to October 6, [2023].”

“The fact that Hamas continues to play games and not immediately hand over all the bodies of our fallen is in itself evidence that the terrorist organization is still standing on its feet. The time has come to break those legs once and for all,” said National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir.

“Now we do not need to ‘exact a price from Hamas’ for the violations. We need to take its very existence and destroy it completely – in accordance with the central goal defined for the War of Redemption. Mr. Prime Minister, enough hesitation – give the order!”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged Netanyahu to convene the small cabinet “for a discussion in order to formulate a firm and decisive package of responses and to ensure we stand by the main objective of the war: the destruction of Hamas and the removal of the threat posed by Gaza to the citizens of Israel.”

“We cannot allow Hamas to mock Israeli citizens and cynically play with the emotions of the families of the fallen hostages,” he added.

Monday night’s handover was the first in six days and came shortly before a 48-hour deadline set by U.S. President Trump expired.

“Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly,” he wrote, “Let’s see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely.”

On Monday, security officials had told Walla News that Israel is weighing five options to respond to Hamas’s violations.

These were said to include capturing more ground in Gaza, targeted eliminations, retrieving hostage remains militarily, increasing diplomatic pressure, and finally, canceling the ceasefire agreement.