Al-Qassam hands over bodies of two Israeli captives
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The transfer is part of the first phase of the prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement currently in place in the Gaza Strip.
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A member of Al-Qassam Brigades stands guard as Red Cross vehicles enter a warehouse allegedly to collect coffins containing the bodies of four deceased captives on October 14,2025.(AP)
The Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, handed over the bodies of two Israeli captives on Saturday evening. The transfer is part of the first phase of the prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement currently in place in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the Qassam Brigades confirmed: “As part of the Al-Aqsa Flood prisoner exchange deal, we handed over the bodies of two Israeli occupation captives, which were extracted today in the Gaza Strip at 10 p.m. Gaza time.”
Recovery efforts continue under ceasefire framework
The Palestinian resistance movement emphasized its ongoing commitment to fulfilling the terms of the ceasefire agreement, including the transfer of captives' bodies. The statement noted that efforts to locate and retrieve the remaining bodies are ongoing but face logistical and technical challenges.
“The remaining bodies require significant effort and special equipment to search for and retrieve them, and we are making a great effort to close this file,” the statement said.
'Israel' did not defeat Hamas, it certified them: National Interest
"Israel" still insists on achieving a so-called complete victory in the Gaza Strip despite signing a ceasefire agreement last week, which brought the besieged strip long-anticipated calm after two years of genocide. But as the occupation says it intends to destroy the Resistance movement Hamas, reports show that the Resistance group has emerged with at least 15,000 armed fighters ready to reassert order in Gaza.
An op-ed by Azeem Ibrahim, published in The National Interest, explains that experts have long affirmed that Hamas cannot be eliminated by military pressure; targeting its leadership has proven vain as long as organized cells continue to operate, given that Hamas is deeply ideologically and politically entrenched in ordinary Palestinian society. This has been proven in precedent in US operations against Al Qaeda and ISIS. "You can kill leaders, dismantle infrastructure, and occupy territory, but you cannot bomb away an idea," Ibrahim stated.
"Israel", Ibrahim argues, has empowered Hamas through the complete devastation of the Gaza Strip. Over two years, the Israeli military destroyed infrastructure, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, and displaced at least a million. However, these same conditions of destruction and despair initially gave rise to Hamas, and are now more tangible than ever, empowering the Resistance group.
