Netanyahu Orders Airstrikes on Hamas in Gaza After Fake Body Transfer

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered airstrikes on Hamas positions in Gaza on Tuesday night after the terror organization staged a fake transfer of the body of one of the deceased hostages Monday.

Hamas is supposed to return 28 bodies under the terms of the ceasefire that went into effect earlier this month. It has only returned 15 thus far; 13 remain.

As Breitbart News reported, citing Israeli media and official sources, Hamas was caught on video digging a hole, putting human remains in it, then summoning the Red Cross to watch as it “retrieved” the remains.

The remains were transferred to Israel via the Red Cross in a coffin. Subsequent tests determined that the remains were those of a hostage who had been murdered two years ago and whose remains had been partially recovered by Israel in a special military operation.

Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian told journalists in a briefing that Israel believes Hamas knows the location of all of the remaining bodies; others report that nine of the 13 locations are known.

Regardless, the Hamas ruse infuriated Israelis, especially after two soldiers were killed in an unprovoked attack earlier this month. Israel decided to maintain the ceasefire at that point, but resumed attacks Tuesday.

Netanyahu’s office issued a terse statement to the press: “Following security consultations, Prime Minister Netanyahu has directed the military to immediately carry out forceful strikes in the Gaza Strip.”

Israel’s Army Radio reported that airstrikes had been carried out in central Gaza, in the area of Deir al-Balah.

The U.S. has not responded yet; President Donald Trump has said that Hamas would be destroyed if it did not comply with the terms of his 20-point plan, through which he hopes to build momentum for regional peace.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.