Military scandal shakes Netanyahu: Senior Israeli brigade commander returns from Gaza as a corpse

GAZA, Nov. 03 (YPA) – The Israeli occupation army suffered another major setback after the body of Asaf Hamami, commander of the Southern Brigade in the Gaza Division, was found.

Hamami had been captured by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023, exposing what has been described as one of the most serious security and military failures within Israel’s defense system since the start of the war.

Media sources reported that the body of Hamami — the highest-ranking Israeli officer held inside Gaza — was recovered along with the remains of two other Israeli soldiers east of Khan Younis.

According to the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, the area where the bodies were found had remained inaccessible to the Israeli military for a full year, sparking sharp criticism of both military and political leadership in Tel Aviv.

In a related development, Hebrew media outlets said an Egyptian delegation and representatives from the Red Cross, along with members of Hamas, took part in the search for the bodies of slain Israeli captives in Gaza’s Shujaiya neighborhood — a scene commentators described as an unprecedented humiliation for an army that has lost control even over the fate of its own dead.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to play down the magnitude of the incident, accusing Hamas of “trying to deceive “Israel” and the world.” However, observers said his remarks failed to mask the growing sense of confusion and collapse of morale within Israel’s institutions.

Meanwhile, Hamas announced it had handed over the sixteenth body out of 28 Israeli captives killed and still held in Gaza, noting that the widespread destruction caused by the war has made locating the remaining bodies extremely difficult.

@E.Y.M