Israel announced Tuesday that it had received from Hamas via the Red Cross the remains of a deceased hostage as President Donald Trump’s 48-hour deadline looms.
The remains, however, did not match any of the 13 deceased hostages whose bodies are still in Gaza. Fox News has learned that the coffin handed over to Israel was assessed to contain the remains of a hostage whose body was already brought back to Israel for burial. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office urged the public to respect the privacy of the hostages’ families. Neither the Israeli government nor the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the identity of the deceased hostage.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum released a statement appearing to identify the remains as belonging to Ofir Tzarfati.
“Ofir attended the Nova Festival to celebrate his birthday with his partner Shoval and close friends. The birthday celebration was brutally cut short when Ofir was abducted into captivity, where he was murdered. Ofir’s body was recovered at the end of November 2023 and brought to burial in Israel,” the forum wrote.
The forum also noted that some of Tzarfati’s remains were returned in March 2024 and that in August 2024, Hamas published a photo of his body.
“We went to sleep last night with anticipation and hope that another family would close an agonizing two-year circle and bring their loved one home for burial. But once again, deception has been inflicted upon our family as we try to heal. This morning we were shown video footage of our beloved son’s remains being removed, buried, and handed over to the Red Cross — an abhorrent manipulation designed to sabotage the deal and abandon the effort to bring all the hostages home,” the Tzarfati family wrote in a statement.
“This is the third time we have been forced to open Ofir’s grave and rebury our son. The circle supposedly ‘closed’ back in December 2023, but it never truly closes. Since then, we have lived with a wound that constantly reopens, between memory and longing, between bereavement and mission.”
The Tzarfati family urged the public to support the families who were still waiting for their loved ones to be brought home for a dignified burial.
On Saturday, Trump touted the “very strong peace in the Middle East,” but then he slammed Hamas and demanded they “start returning the bodies of deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly.” He said that if the terror group failed to hold up its end of the deal, other countries would “take action.”
“We have a very strong PEACE in the Middle East, and I believe it has a good chance of being EVERLASTING. Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly, or the other countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will take action,” Trump wrote.
The president added that while he said that “both dies would be treated fairly,” his promise would only apply if “they comply with their obligations.”
Trump acknowledged that “some of the bodies are hard to reach,” but said others could start being returned now, adding that “for some reason, they are not.” He then said that it would remain to be seen what actions Hamas would take in the coming 48 hours, adding, “I am watching this very closely.”
Since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire began, all living Israeli hostages held in Gaza have been released, while the country awaits the return of deceased hostages’ remains.
So far, Israel has received 15 of the 28 deceased hostages’ remains, including Aryeh Zalmanovich, Master Sergeant (Res.) Tamir Adar, Staff Sgt. Tal Haimi, Suntaya Akrasi, Ronen Tommy Engel, Eliyahu Margalit, Uriel Baruch, Staff Sgt. Tamir Nimrodi, Eitan Levi, Daniel Peretz, Yossi Sharabi, Guy Illuz, Bipin Joshi, Inbar Hayman and Sergeant Major Muhammad Al-Atresh. The remains of U.S.-Israeli citizens Cpt. Omer Neutra and Staff Sgt. Itay Chen, have not been returned to Israel.
The Israeli government and military have repeatedly called on Hamas to hold up its end of the deal and give families the closure they have been denied for over two years.
