Watch: Al-Qassam Brigades dig under the rubble in search of the bodies of Israeli prisoners | policy

Al Jazeera broadcast exclusive scenes documenting that members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), began digging operations to search for the bodies of Israeli prisoners under the rubble in the Khan Yunis area in the southern Gaza Strip, in a scene that reflects the extent of the complications facing the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

These scenes come at a time when Israeli threats to resume military operations in the Gaza Strip have escalated if Hamas does not adhere to all the provisions of the agreement that entered into force on October 11, especially with regard to the return of the bodies of the rest of the Israeli prisoners detained in Gaza.

In contrast to Israeli skepticism, US President Donald Trump expressed clear optimism regarding the issue.

Trump said on Wednesday evening that Hamas is already searching for the bodies of the remaining prisoners in the Gaza Strip, noting that some of them are under the rubble of homes as a result of the bombing, expressing his confidence that things will go well despite Israeli doubts.

For its part, Hamas confirmed in an official statement that it had handed over all living prisoners and all the bodies that it was able to recover, noting that the remaining 18 bodies require great efforts and special equipment to search for and extract them.

The movement explained that most of these prisoners were killed as a result of the Israeli bombing that targeted locations where the occupation knew of their presence, which now makes it difficult to reach them without external assistance.

The extent of the destruction

The faltering efforts to exhume bodies are directly related to the unprecedented extent of destruction caused by the Israeli aggression on Gaza.

Figures from the Ministry of Health in Gaza indicate that the death toll since October 7, 2023 has reached 70,000 martyrs and more than 170,000 injuries, with a large number of victims remaining under the rubble and the ambulance and civil defense teams unable to reach them.

Since the ceasefire took effect, the Ministry of Health in Gaza has recorded 23 martyrs and 122 injuries, and 381 new bodies have been recovered from under the rubble.

The Ministry also announced that it had received from the Israeli occupation 120 bodies of unidentified Palestinians.

So far, Hamas has released 20 Israeli prisoners alive and handed over the bodies of 10 others as part of the first phase of the prisoner exchange agreement, which came in accordance with President Trump’s plan.

In return, Israel released 250 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, in addition to 1,718 detainees from the Gaza Strip whom it arrested after October 7, 2023.