Israeli Minister Threatens War After Hamas Hands Over Two Bodies.

Two former Israeli prisoners identified, Israel threatens to resume war on Gaza if Hamas weapons are not dismantled. Israeli Prime Minister links the opening of the Rafah crossing to Hamas’ commitment to return the bodies and implement the terms of the agreement. Hamas considers the decision to prevent the opening of the crossing a violation of the agreement.

Israeli sources confirmed the identification of the bodies of two former prisoners handed over by the Al-Qassam Brigades, while an Israeli minister threatened to resume the war on Gaza.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Ronen Engel family had been informed of the return of their son’s body after it was identified. The office added that the identification of the second body is still underway.

Later, Channel 12 reported the identification of the second body, noting that there are 16 other bodies of Israeli detainees in Gaza.

The Al-Qassam Brigades had handed over the bodies of two prisoners to the Red Cross teams, and they were transferred to the Forensic Medicine Center for identification. Thus, Al-Qassam has handed over 12 bodies as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, as it released 20 live Israeli prisoners.

Threat of war

In a related context, Israeli Minister of Transportation Miri Regev threatened to resume the war on Gaza if Hamas does not dismantle its weapons after returning all the bodies of the detainees.

The office of the Israeli Prime Minister announced that Netanyahu ordered the Rafah crossing not to be opened until further notice, noting that its opening depends on Hamas’ commitment to return the bodies and implement the terms of the agreement. Netanyahu stressed that the war in Gaza will not end until Hamas is disarmed.

For its part, Hamas considered the decision to prevent the opening of the Rafah crossing a violation of the agreement and a denial of commitments.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar had spoken about the possibility of opening the crossing earlier.

It is noteworthy that US President Donald Trump’s plan to stop the war includes provisions that include disarming Hamas, which the movement rejects, in addition to forming an independent administration for the sector and deploying an international “stabilization force” in it.