The International Committee of the Red Cross is serious accusations from Israel after drone footage appeared to show its staff present during a Hamas-staged “fake recovery” of hostage remains in Gaza.

In a scathing statement Wednesday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said the Red Cross had been “complicit in Hamas’s charade” and accused the group’s field workers of either ignorance or willful blindness.

“We appreciate the Red Cross condemnation of Hamas’s staged ‘burials’ and ‘discoveries’ of hostage bodies, which they previously extracted from Hamas holding sites,” the ministry said. “But there seems to be a gap between what the Red Cross office knows and reality, given footage of Red Cross staff at the deception. We trust the Red Cross will take action regarding lies their staff apparently report upwards.”

The Prime Minister’s Office echoed the criticism, accusing Hamas of orchestrating a “fraudulent show” in front of international observers.

The controversy centers on drone footage released by the IDF, which clearly shows Hamas operatives throwing a hostage’s body out of a window, burying it in a pit, and covering it with dirt—all while Red Cross staff look on. The IDF said the incident was part of a propaganda stunt designed to create the illusion that Hamas was complying with the U.S.-brokered hostage agreement.

The Red Cross, in a statement Tuesday, denied prior knowledge of the ruse. “Our team only observed what appeared to be the recovery of remains without prior knowledge of the circumstances leading up to it,” the organization said. “It is unacceptable that a fake recovery was staged, when so much depends on this agreement being upheld and when so many families are still anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones.”

But Israeli officials say the video tells a different story.

The IDF accused Hamas of “attempting to create a false impression of efforts to locate the bodies, while in fact holding deceased hostages whose remains it refuses to release as required by the agreement.”

The military also dismissed Hamas’s claim of lacking the “engineering equipment” to transfer the bodies, calling it a “transparent excuse.”

Under Trump’s ceasefire and hostage deal, signed earlier this month, Hamas committed to handing over all 48 hostages—living and deceased—by Oct. 13. Israel freed 20 living captives that day, but the terror group has dragged its feet on returning the 28 bodies, sparking outrage in both Washington and Jerusalem.

On Monday night, Hamas violated the deal outright by releasing partial remains of Ofir Tzarfati, an Israeli hostage whose body had already been recovered by the IDF in 2023—a move Israeli officials called “a deliberate provocation.”

“This is not a misunderstanding; it’s a breach,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. “Hamas’s refusal to return new bodies is a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement.”

Over the weekend, Trump gave Hamas 48 hours to return the remaining bodies or face action by “the other countries involved” in the deal—a veiled reference to Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, who helped broker the agreement.

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