Israel Threatens to Resume Gaza Offensive

Israel has threatened to resume military operations in Gaza after Hamas said it could not recover all deceased Israeli hostages, raising fears of a collapse in the fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire.

Israel has warned it could restart military operations in Gaza following a dispute with Hamas over the return of deceased Israeli hostages, casting fresh uncertainty over a fragile ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Hamas stated it was unable to recover all the bodies without specialised recovery equipment, having so far handed over nine remains to Israeli authorities. The group cited extensive damage to infrastructure from previous bombardments as a major obstacle to locating and retrieving the remaining bodies.

The issue has become a new flashpoint in the tense truce, which was established to facilitate the exchange of 20 living Israeli hostages for nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees, and to allow limited humanitarian aid into Gaza through the Rafah crossing.

Aid agencies, however, have warned that the current level of assistance is dangerously inadequate, with thousands of trucks urgently required to avert famine conditions in the densely populated enclave. They continue to call for unfettered humanitarian access and a longer-lasting cessation of hostilities.

Israeli officials insist that any continuation of the ceasefire depends on Hamas’s full disarmament and complete cooperation regarding the hostages. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have been placed on heightened alert, and discussions in the security cabinet reportedly centred on timelines for a potential military response.

The United States and regional mediators, including Egypt and Qatar, are urging restraint, warning that renewed fighting could unravel months of negotiation and deepen an already dire humanitarian crisis.

The deadlock underscores the delicate nature of the truce — a fragile balance between diplomacy, distrust, and grief. In a conflict where human lives and dignity remain bargaining chips, even a single unreturned body could tip the scales back towards war.