Israel will achieve all the goals it set for the war in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday.

Speaking at a ceremony for fallen soldiers during the two-year conflict with the armed group Hamas, Netanyahu also said Israel’s enemies had learned that “anyone who raises a hand against it will pay a heavy price,” Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today he was determined to achieve the return of the bodies of all hostages held by Hamas, a day after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened a resumption of hostilities in the Gaza Strip.

Israel accuses Hamas of violating the cease-fire agreement under which it had to hand over all hostages held in Gaza, dead and alive, within 72 hours of the agreement coming into force, i.e. by 12:00 Monday at the latest.

The Forum of Families of Israeli Hostages is calling on the Israeli government to delay the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement until Hamas hands over the bodies of the last 19 hostages.

In a statement issued today, the Forum demands “for the government to immediately halt the implementation of every other stage of the agreement as long as Hamas continues to openly violate its obligations to return all hostages and remains of victims.”

Hamas released the 20 hostages alive by the deadline, but has only handed over 9 bodies out of the 28 in its possession.

“The battle is not over yet…”

“We are determined to achieve the return of all hostages”Netanyahu said during the official ceremony for the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attack.

“The battle is not yet over, but one thing is clear: anyone who raises a hand against us knows that they will pay a very heavy price”he said indicatively.

“If Hamas refuses to respect the agreement, Israel, in coordination with the US, will resume fighting and ensure the complete defeat” of Hamas, the Israeli Defense Minister warned yesterday.

Hamas had previously announced that it had returned the bodies of the hostages it had access to in Gaza and that it needed “special equipment” to recover the rest.

“They dig…”

When asked about Hamas’ compliance with the agreement, Donald Trump said yesterday that Hamas was “digging” to find bodies. “They dig. They find many bodies.”

“Some of these bodies have been there for a long time and some are under the rubble. They need to clear the rubble. Some are in tunnels.”

On Sunday, Israeli government spokesman Shosh Bedrossian said an “international organization” brought in under the deal would help “find the dead hostages if they are not found and handed over by Monday.”

In exchange for the return of the remaining hostages, Israel handed over dozens of Palestinian bodies to Gaza.

A senior Hamas official today accused Israel of violating the ceasefire after at least 24 people have been killed by Israeli forces in the enclave since Friday.

“The occupying power is working day and night to undermine the agreement through violations on the ground,” he said.

The Israeli army has not responded to these accusations. It has announced that some Palestinians ignored warnings not to approach army positions and its forces “opened fire to neutralize the threat”.

The ceasefire agreement initially provides for the implementation of the ceasefire, the release of hostages, the withdrawal of the Israeli army from areas of Gaza, as well as the transfer of more humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave.

The agreement also provides for the final phase of the complete disarmament of Hamas and the amnesty or exile of its fighters, as well as the continuation of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. These points are under discussion.

Israel has the obligation after the implementation of the ceasefire and the release of the hostages to open the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt for the influx of humanitarian aid.

Israeli authorities announced today that the opening date of the Rafah crossing will be announced at a later date and that the opening will be “exclusively for the movement of persons”.

“Absolutely free access”

“We want all the crossings to be opened and access to be completely free,” said Tom Fletcher, the head of UN humanitarian operations, who will visit the Rafah crossing today.

Tom Fletcher said thousands of aid trucks must enter the Gaza Strip every week to deal with the humanitarian crisis.

Only 600 trucks have been allowed into Gaza since the ceasefire agreement came into force. The UN coordinator said this was a “good basis”, but a long way from what was necessary.

Ismail Al-Thawabta, head of Hamas’s media office, said the amounts of aid that have entered Gaza are “a drop in the ocean.”

At the end of August, the UN declared many areas of the Gaza Strip in a state of famine, which Israel disputes.

At the moment, Israel allows humanitarian aid to pass through mainly through the Kerem Shalom crossing, but humanitarian organizations complain about administrative delays and security checks.

In the Gaza Strip, hungry residents are routinely hijacking aid trucks to steal and stockpile supplies, hampering the coordinated distribution of aid to famine-stricken areas, according to a humanitarian source.