The Hostages and Missing Families Forum and the Tzarfati family slammed Hamas and its continued psychological warfare, following the circulation of a video showing the organization's burial and "discovery" of Ofir Tzarfati's remains on Tuesday.
The video, filmed by an IDF drone that had been in the area, shows Hamas members placing Tzarfati's remains in a freshly dug hole before covering the remains with dirt. They then proceeded to "dig" up the remains and called over members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to witness the discovery.
The ICRC claimed that its team operating on the ground was unaware of Hamas's staging attempt, and that its "role as a neutral mediator does not include the removal of the bodies of deceased hostages from the ground," in a statement responding to the video.
"Our team members observed what appeared to be the collection of remains, without prior knowledge of the circumstances that led to this," the ICRC explained.
"It is unacceptable to stage a rescue operation," the ICRC said, "especially when so much depends on the existence of this agreement, and when so many families are still anxiously awaiting information about their loved ones."
The ICRC further reiterated that its team was "unable to intervene directly in the situation" and noted that it had raised its concerns "directly with the parties."
Continued ceasefire violations, psychological warfare
This marks the third time Tzarfati's remains have been discovered, returned, and buried. Tzarfati was pronounced dead after his remains were returned to Israel during an IDF and Shin Bet operation in December 2023. Additional remains of Tzarfati were brought to Israel in March 2024.
"Hamas’s repeated violations prove what we have known and said all along," the forum wrote. "Hamas knows the location of all the hostages and continues to act with contempt, deceiving mediators and the international community while desecrating the dignity of our loved ones."
Tzarfati's mother, Rishel Tzarfati, and his sister Shoval Tzarfati further condemned Hamas for its actions in a statement released by the forum.
"I stand here today, forced once again to say goodbye to my son," Rishel Tzarfati said. "We thought we had closed the circle, that we were able to lay Ofir to rest, but today we discovered we never received all of him. I can't grasp this. How can you bury your child in installments?"
"Hamas executed a cruel manipulation by returning my brother's remains instead of one of our 13 precious hostages who were supposed to be returned for proper burial in the Land of Israel, a blatant and contemptuous violation of the agreement signed and approved by both sides," Shoval Tzarfati wrote.
"We will continue to hold onto the prayer that everyone will return to us for eternal rest, until the very last hostage.”