The body of Fadi al-Batsh, a Hamas drone scientist killed in Malaysia last week, was released to his family on Wednesday and taken to an Islamic assembly building in Kuala Lumpur where dozens of people mourned his death at a funeral ceremony.
Anwar al-Agha, the Palestinian envoy in Malaysia, said al-Batsh's body would be returned to the Gaza Strip for burial later Wednesday via the Rafah border crossing. He said Egypt had agreed to the move.
The parents of Lt. Hadar Goldin, whose remains have been held by Hamas since he was killed in Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014, called Egypt's decision to allow the body to be transferred to Gaza "a resounding failure" for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
"After nearly four years of our son being held captive by Hamas, we understood that the body of a terrorist and Hamas' interest in bringing him to burial in Gaza is an opportunity [that could] bring a resolution to the issue of IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians held by Hamas," the family said in a statement.
"After three days, it is clear the final result is a resounding failure. In a few hours, the terrorist's body will pass through the Rafah crossing, and his funeral will turn into a media circus that will have a psychological effect and show the Palestinians, the entire Arab world and the international community [Hamas' military leader] Yahya Sinwar's victory over Benjamin Netanyahu: another victory for Hamas over the Israeli government and those who lead it in the diplomatic and security arena – Netanyahu and Lieberman.
"Our greatest disappointment is that it has been made abundantly clear to us that [fallen captive soldier] Oron Shaul, Hadar Goldin, [and civilians] Averra Mengitsu and Hisham al-Sayed are not at the top of the priorities of the prime minister and the defense minister."
Mengistu, an Ethiopian Israeli, and al-Sayed, a Bedouin, both suffering from mental health issues, crossed into Gaza voluntarily in 2014 and 2015 and are believed to have been captured by Hamas.
Also on Wednesday, Malaysian police released a photo of one of the two alleged assailants who gunned down al-Batsh in Kuala Lumpur and said they are believed to still be in the country.
Based on eyewitness description, Malaysian police earlier released computer-generated images of the two suspects, believed to be from Europe or the Middle East.
National Police Chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun said that investigators found a motorcycle abandoned near the murder scene and were able to trace an actual photo of one of the suspects. He said the men were believed to have entered Malaysia in late January using fake documents.
"We believe that the suspects are still in the country," Fuzi said, adding that they may have changed their appearance.
The hit was done in a "very professional" manner and police are working on the angle that the assailants may be foreign agents, Fuzi said. He declined to comment on whether they are linked to Israel's Mossad intelligence agency.
Police said al-Batsh, 34, was hit with more than a dozen bullets by the assailants, who shot him from a motorcycle as he was heading to a mosque for dawn prayers in a suburb near Kuala Lumpur. Police said security video showed that the suspects had waited for him for almost 20 minutes.
Hamas initially stopped short of blaming Israel, saying only that al-Batsh had been "assassinated by the hand of treachery." But later its top leader accused the Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, of killing al-Batsh and threatened retaliation.
While Israel has not commented on the assassination, several officials have noted that Israel is routinely blamed for such killings, even when it is not involved. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman suggested in radio interviews Sunday that al-Batsh may have been killed as part of a rivalry between Palestinian terrorists.
Meanwhile, two Palestinians were apprehended early Tuesday morning by IDF troops as they were trying to cross the border fence in southern Gaza into Israeli territory. The men, who were armed with a grenade and a knife, were turned over to the Shin Bet security agency for interrogation.
In another incident later that day, three unarmed men were apprehended after crossing the border fence near the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
