Israel: Washington prevents Israel from taking punitive measures against Hamas after halting the return of prisoners’ bodies from Gaza

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that Washington is preventing Tel Aviv from taking punitive measures in response to the halt in the return of the bodies of the remaining prisoners from the Gaza Strip, expecting Hamas to release a new batch of prisoners’ remains, Saturday.

This comes as Hamas has handed over the bodies of 16 prisoners out of 28, the majority of whom are Israeli, since the prisoner exchange deal and ceasefire agreement went into effect on October 10.

Hamas has repeatedly emphasized that it seeks to close the issue and that it needs time, advanced equipment, and heavy machinery to retrieve the remaining bodies.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted unnamed sources in a report, saying, “The United States is preventing Israel from imposing sanctions or taking any other steps at this stage in response to the failure to return the slain abductees”.

The sources claimed that Hamas had the option to return the bodies of the slain prisoners, but hasn’t done so since Tuesday evening, when it released the bodies of two gostages.

An Israeli source told the Authority that Tel Aviv had received a message stating that Hamas would release the bodies of prisoners on Saturday, without immediate comment from Hamas on the allegations.

The authority continued: “Following the visit of US Vice President J.D. Vance and Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel yesterday… This isn’t expected to be the last visit by senior US officials to the country in the near future”.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation continued: “Another senior Trump administration official, Morgan Ortagus, Trump’s deputy special envoy to the Middle East, is expected to arrive on Sunday”.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation considered that the continued presence of senior US administration officials represents a message to Israel.

A US source was quoted as saying, “Israel must stop committing foolish actions that could jeopardize the agreement and the possibility of achieving a regional breakthrough,” referring to a bill to impose Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, which passed its preliminary reading in the Knesset on Wednesday.

Last Tuesday, the US Vice President was asked at a press conference in Israel whether Washington would set a deadline for Hamas to return the bodies of the remaining Israeli hostages.

“That’s what everyone here is concerned about, ensuring they return to their families and are given a proper burial, but it’s complicated and won’t happen overnight,” Vance replied.

He added, “Some of them (the dead hostages) are buried under thousands of kilograms of rubble, and the whereabouts of others are unknown… We must be patient; it will take time”.

He added, “I’ll not set a specific deadline because some issues are complex and unpredictable”.