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Israel warns it will resume military operations in Gaza if Hamas violates truce

16 October 2025 08:50 (UTC +04:00)

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Wednesday that if Hamas does not demilitarize and return all bodies of hostages it holds, Israel will return to fighting, APA reports, citing CGTN.

The statement from Defence Minister Israel Katz's office came after Hamas handed over the remains of two more deceased hostages, and said it would be unable to retrieve any more bodies from the ruins of Gaza without specialized equipment.

Since Monday, under a ceasefire agreement brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, Hamas has handed back 20 surviving hostages to Israel in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails.

Before the two bodies were handed over late on Wednesday, Hamas had already returned the remains of seven of 28 known deceased hostages along with an eighth body which Israel said was not that of a former hostage.

"If Hamas refuses to comply with the agreement, Israel, in coordination with the United States, will resume fighting and act to achieve a total defeat of Hamas, to change the reality in Gaza and achieve all the objectives of the war," according to a statement from Katz's office.