Red Cross Addresses Video of Hamas Handling Israeli Hostage Remains in Gaza

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported that its personnel in Gaza "were not able to intervene directly on-site" during an incident where alleged Hamas members were observed burying and then uncovering the remains of an Israeli hostage. This event was depicted in a video released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday.

The IDF's footage, purportedly captured by a drone, shows masked individuals, some in military attire and others in civilian clothing, removing a shrouded body from a building near Gaza City's Shejaiya neighborhood. The body is carried to a nearby pit, buried under rocks and dirt, and later exhumed using a bulldozer. Three individuals wearing red ICRC vests are present during parts of this process.

The ICRC emphasized that its staff were unaware that the human remains had been previously staged. The organization stated, "ICRC staff were not aware the human remains shown in the video in the mouth of an excavator had been previously staged," and highlighted that the recovery of human remains is the responsibility of the involved parties under international humanitarian law.

The remains were later identified as belonging to Ofir Tzarfati. His family expressed distress over the incident, stating that Hamas had inflicted a deception "upon our family as we try to heal."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office criticized Hamas for handing over Tzarfati's remains instead of those of the 13 deceased hostages still missing in Gaza, calling it "a clear violation of the agreement" brokered by President Trump to halt the two-year war.

The IDF accused Hamas of "attempting to create a false impression of efforts to locate the bodies, while in fact holding deceased hostages whose remains it refuses to release as required by the agreement."

The ICRC reiterated its role as a neutral intermediary and stated that its staff are not involved in the retrieval of human remains. The organization is raising its concerns directly with the involved parties.

Israel's foreign ministry acknowledged the Red Cross's condemnation of Hamas's actions but noted a discrepancy between the ICRC's understanding and the reality depicted in the footage. The ministry expressed trust that the ICRC would address the situation appropriately.