Israel Accuses Hamas of Staging Coffin Returns

The ICRC collected two coffins from Hamas in central Gaza and handed them to IDF troops, who said the caskets will be inspected, draped in Israeli flags and sent to Tel Aviv’s Abu Kabir forensic institute for identification. The returns raise the tally of recovered remains to roughly 15–17 of the 28 hostages believed to have died, while about 13 bodies — including two U.S. citizens — are still thought to be in Gaza; Israel has accused Hamas of delaying or even staging some recoveries, citing drone footage of a purportedly staged reburial. Families and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum have demanded urgent talks and urged mediators not to advance the next phase of the ceasefire-hostage deal until all hostages and bodies are returned, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency security meeting as officials weigh responses. Israel is considering options including extending operational control in Gaza, targeted strikes, a high-risk retrieval operation, intensified diplomatic pressure and sanctions such as restricting access to buffer zones. Negotiations continue over implementing a U.S.-backed ceasefire and an international security force — with proposed troop contributions from Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Indonesia and Egypt and Israeli objections to official Palestinian Authority involvement — even as reported Israeli strikes and tank fire underscore the ceasefire’s fragility.