Exposed: Identity Revealed of the Body Hamas Claimed as Belonging to a Hostage

A significant and troubling development has unfolded in the delicate process of retrieving the bodies of hostages from Gaza: a body transferred by Hamas to Israeli authorities, intended to be a deceased hostage, was officially identified as a Palestinian man, not an Israeli citizen or soldier. The deceased was named as Khalil Dawas, a resident of the Aqabat Jabr area near Jericho, who was originally from the northern Gaza Strip.

The transfer of the body, the fourth one returned so far in the limited exchanges, immediately follows high-level warnings from Israeli and U.S. officials that Hamas has been "playing a dangerous game" regarding the return of the deceased captives.

Dawas’s body carries a complex history of its own. Reports indicate that he had been detained by Israeli authorities in the past. According to Israel’s Kan public broadcaster, Dawas was reportedly accompanying Israeli forces during tunnel searches about a year and a half ago when he was killed by Hamas militants. This report comes amid recurring, though prohibited, allegations that the IDF uses detained Palestinians to enter dangerous locations ahead of troops, a practice the military denies and says it investigates.

An Intentional Act of Deception?

The transfer has been widely viewed by some as a deliberate act of deception and propaganda by Hamas. The terror group's armed wing previously used footage of Dawas in a video released in May, claiming he was an abducted Israeli soldier captured in a tunnel in Jabalia. The footage showed a wounded man being dragged and displayed photos of gear that Israeli experts noted was not standard IDF issue. Hamas had also published an image of the man's face but never provided a name.

While Israeli officials suggested Hamas may have "mistakenly" handed over the body of a Gazan instead of a hostage, Arab sources and security observers reject the notion of an error. Sources affiliated with the Fatah movement further claim that Dawas was wanted by Palestinian Authority security forces for criminal, ethical, and security offenses prior to his death.

One security analysis channel asserted that Hamas's decision to return Dawas's body as an "Israeli soldier" was fully intentional, noting: "Hamas′s choice to return the body of Khalil Dawas as an ′Israeli soldier′ shows that Hamas continues to test Israel′s limits and keeps playing games. It′s totally on purpose."

The source added that Hamas "is aware of the effect that this has in Israel, which indicates its intentions for the rest of the process of returning the bodies. In my opinion, Israel needs to take an especially aggressive stance, especially with this, and not to normalize Hamas's games with hostages' bodies; otherwise, it will just increase." The incident casts a profound shadow over the ongoing coordination efforts and the trust required to complete the exchange of the remaining bodies of the fallen.