Hamas violated the cease-fire agreement by attacking Israeli soldiers operating in the Rafah area and not handing over the bodies of 16 hostages for a proper Jewish burial.
By Rachel Avraham
On Sunday morning, in blatant violation of the cease-fire agreement, Hamas attacked a group of Israeli soldiers operating in an area that they were permitted to be under the cease-fire agreement, killing two soldiers and wounded several more. According to the Times of Israel, the slain soldiers are named as Maj. Yaniv Kula, 26, and Staff Sgt. Itay Yavetz, 21. Both served in the Nahal Brigade’s 932nd Battalion and are from the central city of Modiin, the Times of Israel added.
According to an initial IDF probe, a cell of terror operatives emerged from a tunnel in the area and fired RPGs at an excavator, killing the two troops, the Times of Israel reported. At the same time, another excavator was hit by sniper fire, wounding two more troops, including one seriously, the Times of Israel added. A short while after that, another soldier was wounded by sniper fire, according to the army’s preliminary investigation, the report noted.
This latest violation comes after Hamas failed to turn over the bodies of all of the deceased hostages that were supposed to be returned to Israel for a proper Jewish burial, in the framework of the cease-fire agreement. So far, the bodies of Thai farmer Sonthaya Oakharasri, Ronen Engel, Eliyahu Margalit, Guy Illous, Yossi Sharabi, Bipin Joshi, Daniel Perez, Inbar Haiman, Muhammed El Atrashm, Tamir Nimrodi, Eitan Levy, and Uriel Baruch have been returned to Israel. Like in the case of Shiri Bibas, Hamas sent Israel an anonymous body instead of a hostage on one instance during the recent exchanges.
However, despite being given ample time to locate the bodies, the bodies of 16 hostages remain in Hamas captivity, even though Israel kept its end of the bargain and released around 2,000 Palestinian terrorists, some of whom had Jewish blood on their hands. The 16 include civilians abducted from their homes near the Gaza border, soldiers, and one police officer, the Times of Israel reported.
On Saturday, the sister of Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed in 2014 and whose body has been held by Hamas ever since, said the fight for the return of the bodies was the “last and hardest,” and called on the public not to abandon the families, the Times of Israel noted. “We need you now in the last and hardest battle of all. The least sexy battle, in which there will be no hugs,” said Ayelet Goldin. “There will be bowed heads, final respect, heroism, and a beautiful and pure Israeliness that preserves its values for the sake of our children.”
In response to the latest violations, the Israeli Air Force launched airstrikes and artillery fire in the area to neutralize the threat, destroying several operational tunnels and military structures identified as harboring terrorist activity, Israel Hayom reported. According to the report, the military called the incident a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire deal and vowed to respond forcefully.
A senior Israeli official told Israel Hayom: “We’re not bombing sand dunes, we’re responding with overwhelming force to what happened in Rafah. We knew they would violate the deal and had prepared in advance with a target bank. They’re getting hit hard and will continue to be hit hard.”
Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton Klein stated following the deadly terrorist attack in Rafah that Hamas’s latest ceasefire violations present a test of US President Donald Trump’s credibility, Arutz Sheva reported. “In light of Hamas’s new ceasefire violations – yet again attacking Israel and murdering hundreds of their own people, it’s important to remember President Trump’s pledge that if there is a Hamas violation, ‘the U.S. will support Israel doing whatever it needs to do’ in response,” Klein said. “In order for President Trump to maintain his credibility and never be seen as a paper tiger and in the interests of a true peace, we believe that President Trump will support any necessary Israeli response.”
“History has shown us that not responding to an illegal serious action brings war, not peace. The world didn’t respond to Germany illegally taking over the Sudetenland; the U.S. didn’t respond to Iran taking 66 American citizens hostage; In 2021, President Biden stopped Israel from responding properly to 4,500 Hamas rockets against Israel in a few days – Biden threatened to withhold arms from Israel if it didn’t stop its strong retaliation against Hamas. The U.S. and Israel didn’t respond to Yasser Arafat and Abbas violating the Oslo accords by continued terrorism, incitement and paying Arabs to murder Jews and Christians. This week, the Palestinian Authority paid the released terrorists over $70 million for their murder of Jews,” he said.
He warned: “The world must understand Hamas, Qatar, and Turkey agreed to a deal only because Hamas was in trouble with Israel on the verge of destroying them in Gaza City. They viewed this deal as an Islamic Hudna, a temporary ceasefire until Hamas is strong again after it regroups and brings in new Hamas leadership from the 2,000 released terrorist prisoners.”
“It’s also a mistake to allow Qatar and Turkey any real role in overseeing Gaza. Their leaders have supported Hamas, stating that ‘we are all Hamas’ and continuing to give safe harbor to Hamas leaders,” he said.
“This is a religious war against Jews, Christians and the West – it is not about a Palestinian state or economics. The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) strongly supports Israel responding forcefully to finally destroy Hamas by any means necessary, as President Trump has stated and pledged,” Klein concluded.
Photo from WION: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs8EH1F3L6I
