The Israeli Air Force struck targets in the Al-Fash Rafiah area, which is also being shelled with heavy artillery. This occurred after terrorists opened fire on Israeli soldiers, once again violating the ceasefire agreement.
An Israeli military source told Reuters that Hamas was behind the attack. It happened on Israeli-controlled territory in the Gaza Strip, east of the "yellow line."
Furthermore, according to the "Kan Hadashot" news service, during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a decision was made in response to Hamas's violations of the agreement to expand the area controlled by the IDF in the Gaza Strip beyond the "yellow line."
Israel's Defense Minister Katz stated that Hamas will pay a "high price" for the attack on IDF soldiers today in the southern part of Gaza in Rafah and for the terrorist group's violation of the agreement, according to which it was supposed to return the bodies of the remaining deceased hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
The coffin handed over by Hamas to Israel on Monday evening contained partial remains of Ofir Tsarfati, a hostage whose body was discovered by the military in early December 2023, Israeli officials reported.
In addition to not returning the bodies of 13 deceased hostages who are still in the Gaza Strip, the terrorist group staged the "discovery" of Tsarfati's remains in the eastern part of Gaza City in front of Red Cross representatives.
Hamas took Tsarfati's remains out of a building and placed them in a pit dug in the ground in the Shejaiya area of Gaza City. The body was then covered with earth, and Hamas pretended to reveal it for the first time to Red Cross representatives. The entire incident was filmed by a military drone. The full recording was published by the Israel Defense Forces later on Tuesday.
Tsarfati was kidnapped from the Nova music festival during an attack organized by Hamas on October 7, 2023, where he was celebrating his 27th birthday. The following month, he was declared dead, and on December 1, his body was discovered by the Israel Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip and brought to Israel for burial.
"We went to sleep tonight with anticipation and hope that another family could close the painful circle of two years and bring their loved one back for burial," said a statement from the Headquarters of the Families of the Abducted, released by Ofir Tsarfati's family. "But once again, there was deception at the expense of our family, which is trying with all its might to recover. This morning we were shown a video of militants extracting the remains of our beloved son, burying them, and calling the 'Red Cross.' This is a disgusting manipulation intended to disrupt the deal and refuse to return all the hostages."
After the drone video was released, the Saudi Al-Hadath channel reported that Hamas discovered the body of another hostage in a tunnel in Khan Yunis. Earlier on Tuesday, Hamas announced that it would return the body of the first hostage found in the tunnel tonight, but then canceled this decision "due to [Israel's] violations of the ceasefire agreement."
Israel accused Hamas of repeatedly violating the agreement reached earlier this month and stated that the terrorist group knows where the vast majority or even all of the remaining hostage bodies are located and is deliberately delaying the process and staging fake discoveries of bodies.
Photo: AP