HAMAS said it has found another hostage body and will release it tonight, as the ceasefire in Gaza hangs on a thread.
The military wing said yesterday it had found another body and would hand it over if “conditions on the ground allowed” – but in the end there was no transfer.
Hamas has promised to return a body to Israel at 6pm UK time – though it’s not clear whether this is the one they reported finding yesterday.
If all goes as planned, Hamas will have given back 13 of the 28 hostage bodies thought to have been in Gaza when the ceasefire came into force.
The group has said it’s struggling to find the remaining corpses amongst the devastation in the Strip – and some Israelis say this amounts to breaching the peace deal.
Trump today threatened to “eradicate” Hamas if they did not “behave”.
He said: “We have a little situation, relatively, with Hamas, that will be taken care of very quickly, if they don’t straighten it out themselves, because you’re in violation of the agreement.
“They [Hamas] have to be good, and if they’re not good they’ll be eradicated,” he added.
Meanwhile, the shaky ceasefire was on the brink of collapse last night after both sides accused each other of deadly breaches.
Air strikes were reported to have claimed at least 45 Palestinian lives after a firefight in which two Israeli soldiers were killed by a Hamas rocket-propelled grenade.
Hamas leaders claimed they had lost contact with terror group fighters who launched the attack in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
But more fighting erupted early yesterday (Mon) after Israel claimed two groups of terrorists crossed the “yellow line” IDF troops withdrew to in line with Donald Trump’s peace deal.
Trump troubleshooters Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner landed in Israel yesterday in a bid to shore up the truce, which appeared to be in danger of falling apart after just nine days.
US sources said Trump’s stern message to both sides was “get your sh** together.”
Trump’s vice-president JD Vance is also due to arrive on Tuesday to further shore up the ceasefire amid warnings it was now on “life support.”
Fighting erupted in Rafah after a Hamas cell emerged from a tunnel shaft in an area under IDF control and fired a rocket-propelled grenade and light weapons at two IDF bulldozers.
Two soldiers killed in Rafah were named as Major Yaniv Kula, 26, and Staff Sergeant Itay Yavetz, 21.
Israel accused the October 7 group of “deliberately” breaching the ceasefire and blocking moves to move on from phase one of Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
Hamas claimed the attack could have been the work of rebel units it had no control over and accused Israel of killing 97 Palestinians in 80 ceasefire violations since the truce began.
The US has also warned over the weekend that Hamas is plotting an “imminent” attack on civilians in Gaza.
The State Department said on Saturday it had “credible reports” that the terror group was planning a fresh assault against Palestinians, calling it a “direct and grave violation” of the US-brokered truce.
“Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire,” the department said.
The chilling warning comes amid growing signs Hamas is unwilling to abide by the peace deal it signed last week, under which it was supposed to disarm, release hostages and halt attacks.
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