Israeli army withholding bodies of resistance fighters killed in tunnel attack

At least twelve Palestinian men lost their lives after Israel blew up the tunnel on October 30.

Two of them belonged to the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas resistance movement, while the rest were from al-Quds Brigades, which is the military wing of Islamic Jihad movement.

Following the attack, Palestinians gathered in front of al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Khan Yunis in protest at Israel’s act of aggression.

The tunnel, which was still under construction, reportedly belonged to Hamas and infiltrated into the heart of occupied Palestinian territories.
Meanwhile, the Israeli minister of military affairs Avigdor Lieberman has stated that the decision on what to do with the bodies would be taken by Israel's security cabinet, on which he sits.
Israeli media outlets says the Gaza resistance fighters’ bodies would most likely be retained as bargaining chips to retrieve the remains of two Israeli soldiers killed in the 2014 Gaza war.

Israeli officials claim that three settlers, who are all said to be mentally unstable, are also believed to have entered the Gaza Strip, and are being held by Hamas.
Tunnels are the only lifeline for Palestinians living under the Israeli siege and Egypt has so far destroyed hundreds of them.

Israel and the Egyptian military have launched a campaign to destroy the tunnels, preventing the people in Gaza from bringing most of their basic goods like construction materials, food, and fuel into the coastal enclave.

The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli siege since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standards of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.

The Israeli regime denies about 1.8 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs with proper wages as well as adequate healthcare and education.