Israel can breathe a large sigh of relief.
With the safe return of the living captives, the Israeli state and its people have been granted a moment of fragile triumph. Yet the ordeal is far from over.
Recovering, identifying, and repatriating the bodies of those hostages who died in Hamas captivity presents legal, logistical, moral, and diplomatic dilemmas that test Israel’s resolve and international standing. Much of Gaza lies in ruins.
Entire neighborhoods have been leveled, while underground tunnel systems remain volatile and often inaccessible. Returning the remains of hostages in such conditions will be a massive challenge amid the destruction. Many bodies may lie under tons of debris, in collapsed bunkers or secondary tunnels, or in areas not yet cleared. Some remains may never be located.
The past 24 hours brought both progress and painful reminders of the complexity. As The Jerusalem Post reported, “The IDF confirmed that the remains of the fourth body that were returned on Tuesday night do not belong to a hostage.”
In a related update, the Post noted: “Israeli sources have estimated that this was a mistake, as the body belonged to a Gazan man in an IDF uniform, who was suspected to be a fighter killed in the war.”
These episodes underscore how painstaking the identification process is and why Israel must insist on precision, transparency, and accountability from the other side. Identification itself takes time and cooperation. Decades of experience show that bodies recovered in conflict zones require careful forensic work, including DNA matching, dental records, and personal artifacts.
Officials told the Post that “professional teams in Egypt are currently discussing methods for locating the remaining 21 hostage bodies.”
Israel’s forensic specialists at Abu Kabir have already begun the somber task of confirming identities, with the Post reporting the names of three victims whose remains were identified today.
If Hamas stalls, there must be consequences
The ceasefire framework envisioned full repatriation of bodies. If Hamas stalls, obstructs, or offers partial compliance, Israel must calibrate a clear policy that pairs insistence on full delivery with consequences for delay. This is not a technicality. It is a matter of national honor, bound with the promise that “no one is left behind,” not even in death.
At the same time, the country is hearing the voices of the living.
As the Post reported, freed hostages and their families have begun to share what they endured: “Released Israeli hostages describe torture, starvation, and psychological abuse during their captivity in Gaza”; one mother said of her son’s captors, “They demanded he convert to Islam.”
These accounts strengthen the public’s demand for both justice and closure for the living and the dead. Diplomatically, Israel needs continued cooperation from mediators in Cairo and Doha, from the UN agencies on the ground, and from allies, especially the US. The message must be unified and firm.
As the Post summarized, after the prime minister met with the released hostages, he “promises the remaining 24 abductees will return home too.” That promise must extend to the fallen.
No closure until the bodies return
For the bereaved, there is no closure until the bodies return. The inability to bury loved ones in Israeli soil, to observe mourning, or to sit shiva leaves an open wound. The state has a moral duty to bring them home and to prepare families for the possibility that remains may arrive in fragments or be hard to identify. That requires empathy, candor, and the full support of Israel’s medical, religious, and social services.
Israel has reached a milestone with the return of the living, but the task of returning the dead may be the more delicate and protracted test. This is no longer only about rescue. It is a negotiation over memory, dignity, and the final chapter of a terrible ordeal. Succeeding will require patience, coordination, moral clarity, and strategic finesse. For the families still waiting, the state must not allow them to remain in limbo, in life or in death.
Ultimately, the struggle to retrieve the dead is existential. It speaks to Israel’s covenant with its people – that no citizen, living or dead, will be abandoned. Completing this final act of return will mark not just the end of a tragedy, but a restoration of national honor.