Al-Qassam ready to recover Israeli captives, urges int. assistance

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
Today 17:21

Al-Qassam Brigades announces its readiness to recover the bodies and remains of Israeli captives within the Gaza “yellow line.”

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Members of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and Egyptian workers search for the bodies of captives in a tunnel discovered during searches in Hamad City, Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, on October 28, 2025 (AP)

Al-Qassam Brigades confirmed that its teams are ready to recover the bodies and remains of Israeli captives inside the "yellow line" simultaneously across all locations, as part of efforts to close this file, the group announced on Saturday.

Hamas' armed wing demanded that the mediators and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) provide the necessary equipment for teams to work on retrieving all the remains simultaneously.

"Yesterday, to avoid obstructing the handover of bodies, we offered three samples from several unidentified bodies," the group explained, pointing to an exchange that occurred on Friday.

However, Israeli authorities said that these bodies did not belong to any captives.

"The enemy refused the samples and demanded the transfer of the bodies for testing," a statement underlined.

In its statement, the al-Qassam Brigades clarified that it had never claimed the recovered bodies belonged to Israeli captives, but rather that they were unidentified remains. The Brigades said they had initially offered a sample to Israeli authorities for testing, underscoring that the move was made transparently.

"We complied to preempt the enemy's allegations," the Brigades concluded.

'Israel' hands over bodies of 30 Palestinians

Earlier on Friday, Tel Aviv handed over to the Gaza authorities the bodies of another 30 Palestinians held at Israeli prisons as part of their ceasefire exchange deal, Palestinian news agency Safa reported on Friday.

The bodies were transferred to Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. This is reportedly the fifth handover of prisoner bodies, which brings the total count up to 225. Many bodies are said to bear traces of torture and execution, such as burns, bound hands, and eyes.

On the other hand, Palestinian rescue teams continue to work under extremely harsh and dangerous conditions, painstakingly searching for the bodies and remains of captives buried beneath the vast rubble left by relentless Israeli bombardment.

Additionally, excavation efforts have been severely hampered by the lack of heavy equipment and resources, causing significant delays in recovery operations. As a result, thousands of Palestinians remain missing or have yet to be properly buried, reflecting the immense humanitarian toll and the dire conditions on the ground.