After Fake Retrieval, Hamas Hands 2 (Real) Hostage Bodies to Israel

Israel confirmed Thursday night that two bodies delivered by the Hamas terrorist organization via the Red Cross were those of two dead Israeli hostages, Amiram Cooper, 85, and Sahar Baruch, 25.

In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said:

Following the completion of the identification process by the National Center of Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israel Police and the IDF Rabbinate, IDF representatives informed the families of fallen hostages Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch, of blessed memory, that their loved ones have been returned to Israel and that their identification has been completed. The Government of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of the Cooper and Sahar families and all the families of the fallen hostages. The Government and the entire establishment for the missing and the captives of the State of Israel are determined, committed, and working tirelessly to return all of our fallen hostages for proper burial in their country. The Hamas terrorist organization is required to uphold its commitments to the mediators and return the fallen hostages as part of the implementation of the agreement. We will not compromise on this and will spare no effort until we return all of the fallen hostages, every last one of them. May their memory be for a blessing.

As Breitbart News reported, Israel determined earlier this week that the previous human remains returned by Hamas were not those of a missing hostage, but partial remains of a hostage whose body had been party recovered two years ago.

Hamas had staged a fake process of retrieving that body, hoping to convince the Red Cross and Israel that it was complying with the terms of President Donald Trump’s ceasefire deal, which required that all 28 bodies of Israeli hostages still in Gaza be returned.

Israel launched airstrikes on Hamas positions after that fake transfer, both because of that violation of the ceasefire and because of Hamas ambushes against Israeli soldiers in Gaza, which led to deaths and injuries.

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.