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Israel announced Tuesday that it has received the remains of a dead hostage from Hamas through the Red Cross as President Donald Trump’s 48-hour deadline approaches.
However, the remains did not match any of the 13 dead hostages whose bodies are still in Gaza. The coffin delivered to Israel was determined to contain the remains of a hostage whose body had already been brought back to Israel for burial, Fox News has learned.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office urged the public to respect the privacy of the hostages’ families. Netanyahu’s office later identified the remains as those of Ofir Tzarfati, whose body was first recovered in 2023.
The Forum for the Families of Hostages and the Disappeared issued a statement following the return of more of Zarfati’s remains.
The forum wrote, “Ofir attended the Nova Festival to celebrate his birthday with his partner Shoval and close friends. The birthday celebration was brutally cut short when Ofir was kidnapped and taken into captivity, where he was murdered. In late November 2023, Ofir’s body was recovered and brought to Israel for burial.”
IDF says body returned by Hamas does not match that of any hostage
A protester holds a poster of 27-year-old hostage Ofir Tzarfati during a rally in Tel Aviv. (Ashley Chan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The platform also noted that some of Zarfati’s remains were returned in March 2024 and that in August 2024, Hamas published a photo of his body.
“We slept last night with hope and expectation that another family will end the two-year tragic cycle and bring their loved one home for burial. But once again, our family has been betrayed as we try to heal. This morning we were shown video footage of our beloved son’s remains being exhumed, buried and turned over to the Red Cross – a despicable manipulation that was designed to scuttle the deal and bring all the hostages home. The effort to bring about was made to be abandoned,” the Zarfati family wrote in a statement.
“This is the third time we have been forced to open the tomb of Ophir and re-bury our son. This cycle supposedly ‘closed’ in December 2023, but it never really closed. Since then, we have been living with a wound that constantly reopens between memory and longing, between mourning and mission.”
The Zarfati family urged the public to support the families who were still waiting for their loved ones to be brought home for a dignified burial.
A kidnapped poster of Ofir Tzarfati, recently killed and declared abducted, is seen at a memorial display of photos of those killed during a Hamas attack on the Super Nova festival site in Reim, Israel, on November 30, 2023. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Hamas says it will hand over body of another hostage as Trump’s 48-hour warning looms
On Saturday, Trump spoke of “very strong peace in the Middle East,” but then he criticized Hamas and demanded that they “expeditiously begin returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including the two Americans.” He said that if the terrorist group fails to fulfill the agreement, other countries “will take action.”
Trump wrote on Truth Social, “We have a very strong peace in the Middle East, and I believe it has a good chance of being eternal. Hamas must begin quickly returning the bodies of the dead hostages, including the two Americans, or other countries involved in this great peace will take action.”
The President said that although he had said that “both deceased will be treated appropriately,” his promise would only come into effect if “they comply with their obligations.”
A drone view shows participants holding a large banner during a rally organized by hostage families and supporters at “Hostages Square” demanding the immediate release of the bodies of dead hostages who were abducted in the deadly attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 18, 2025. (Ilan Rosenberg/Reuters)
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Trump acknowledged that “some bodies are difficult to access,” but said others could now be returned, adding that “for some reason, they have not been able to access.” He then said that it remained to be seen what action Hamas would take in the coming 48 hours, adding, “I am watching this very closely.”
Since the start of a US-brokered ceasefire, all surviving Israeli hostages held in Gaza have been released, while the country awaits the return of the remains of the dead hostages.
So far, Israel has recovered the remains of 15 of the 28 deceased hostages, including Aryeh Zalmanovich, Master Sergeant (res.) Tamir Adar, Staff Sgt. Tal Haimi, Suntaya Akrasi, Ronen Tommy Engel, Eliyahu Margalit, Uriel Baruch, Staff Sgt. Tamir Nimrodi, Eitan Levy, Daniel Peretz, Yossi Sharabi, Guy Illouz, Bipin Joshi, Inbar Heyman and Sergeant Major Muhammad Al-Atresh. The remains of American-Israeli citizen Cpt. Omar Neutra and Staff Sgt. Itay Chen has not been returned to Israel.
The Israeli government and military have repeatedly called on Hamas to end the agreement and grant the families the freedoms they have been denied for more than two years.
