Hamas Offers to Recover Remains of Israeli Hostages Inside Gaza’s “Yellow Line”

Gaza, MINA – The Palestinian resistance group Hamas announced on Saturday that it is prepared to recover the remains of all Israeli hostages located within the so-called “yellow line” in the Gaza Strip, urging international mediators and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to provide the necessary machinery to expedite the process.

The “yellow line” refers to a zone established under the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on October 10, marking the areas from which Israeli forces have withdrawn. It divides Gaza roughly between southern Gaza City and northern Khan Younis.

In a statement, the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, said its teams are “ready to work on extracting the bodies of (Israeli) enemy prisoners inside the yellow line at the same time and in all locations, in order to close this file.”

The group called on mediators and the Red Cross “to provide and equip the necessary machinery and teams to retrieve all the bodies simultaneously,” describing the step as part of efforts to resolve the dispute over the fate of the hostage remains.

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Hamas also reported that it handed over three unidentified bodies on Friday after Israel refused to accept samples and insisted on receiving the full remains for forensic identification. The group said it proceeded with the transfer “to block the (Israeli) enemy’s claims” and avoid delays.

However, Israeli media reported that the remains handed over by Hamas do not belong to Israeli hostages.

Since the first phase of the ceasefire began on October 10, Hamas has released 20 Israeli captives alive and returned the remains of 19 out of 28, mostly Israeli citizens. Israel later claimed that one of the recovered bodies did not match any of its listed captives.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israeli forces have killed 211 Palestinians and injured 597 others since the ceasefire took effect, despite the truce.

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Israel has tied the start of negotiations for phase two of the ceasefire to the full return of hostage remains. Hamas says this process will take time due to the massive destruction across Gaza.

The first phase of the agreement includes the exchange of Israeli hostages for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, as well as plans for the reconstruction of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism excluding Hamas.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed more than 68,500 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,600 others, according to Gaza’s health authorities.[]

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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