The bodies of the prisoners ignite a new crisis and threaten to blow up the Gaza agreement policy

Tensions are rising over the process of handing over the bodies of Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip, as the process faces serious complications that threaten the collapse of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.

At the same time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, confirms his commitment and commitment to recovering the bodies of all prisoners, warning that the battle is not over, and threatening to continue working to achieve all the goals of the war without concessions.

The Israeli war on Gaza stopped last Saturday, after all parties agreed to a peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump, according to which it was agreed to cease fire in Gaza and allow humanitarian aid to enter the Strip, in exchange for exchanges of living and dead prisoners.

On the other hand, Israeli Radio quoted an official source as confirming that Tel Aviv would not begin the second phase of the agreement until all the bodies were recovered.

This tough position comes in response to the announcement by the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), that it had handed over all its bodies of known locations, while indicating that it was impossible to return more; For lack of knowledge of their whereabouts or for logistical reasons, heavy equipment is required to remove the rubble.

On Monday, Hamas had already handed over all its living prisoners, and over the past few days it had handed over the bodies of 9 out of 28 prisoners.

In this context, academic and expert on Israeli affairs, Dr. Mahmoud Yazbek, holds Israeli intelligence responsible for the failure in this case.

Before the end of the war, the Israeli press reported that there were 19 bodies that could be handed over directly, but Hamas handed over only nine, which reveals a major discrepancy in intelligence information and reflects the extent of the security failure.

Mounting pressures

Israeli pressure is mounting at the official and popular levels towards demanding the return of all the bodies, as Tel Aviv doubts Al-Qassam’s statements and believes that the Phalange leaders know the locations of the other bodies.

While the Prisoners’ Families Association called on the Israeli government to immediately halt the implementation of the other stages due to what it described as Hamas’ violation of its obligations, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted an official as saying that the government will significantly reduce the entry of aid if Hamas does not release the bodies within days.

From Washington’s side, the US administration adopts a more pragmatic stance than the strict Israeli position, and White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt explains that exhuming the bodies of prisoners will take time and requires specialized equipment because they are in very deep places.

Washington affirms its full commitment to assisting all parties, and reveals that envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are working on the Gaza Strip file and are speaking with all parties to resolve the crisis.

Regarding the Israeli reaction, academic and expert in Middle East politics, Dr. Mahjoub Al-Zuwairi, monitors Israel’s continued dealing with Gaza in the same manner that preceded October 7.

He believes that Tel Aviv does not intend to change its policy towards the Gaza Strip, nor does it show real cooperation to find the bodies. Rather, it refused Turkish assistance despite the readiness of the specialized teams, which reveals a desire to maintain a state of war to maintain pressure and threat.

Impossibility of the task

On the other hand, the Republican Party’s strategic analyst, Edward Franco, puts the crisis in a context consistent with reality, and confirms that everyone knew from the beginning that it was impossible to find some bodies.

Franco accuses Israel of exploiting the issue to impose continued pressure.

Researcher and political analyst Dr. Osama Abu Irshid agrees with Franco’s opinion. From his point of view, Netanyahu is an open political game, and is using the corpse card as “Juha’s nail” to reformulate the terms of the agreement.

He points out that Benjamin Netanyahu, wanted by the International Criminal Court, is playing his usual game with American presidents, trying to place President Donald Trump within his preferred framework and convince him that Hamas has violated the agreement, but Washington realizes that the issue is a technical logistical one not related to a political decision.

The circle of complications expands to include the entire second phase, as Israeli threats include not moving to this crucial phase, which includes fundamental issues such as disarming Hamas and forming a stability force and peace council to govern Gaza.

The second stage – according to Abu Irshid – was designed with loose texts to give each party room to maneuver, but Israel proceeds from the victor’s approach while Hamas negotiates as an undefeated party, which creates a deep gap in expectations.