The Trump administration expressed confidence Wednesday that the remains of all deceased hostages in Gaza will be returned, even as Hamas said it handed over all the bodies it has been able to recover.
“No one’s getting left behind,” a senior U.S. adviser said. “We have a very robust and rigorous effort and we’ve got a plan.”
The advisor maintained that Hamas did not violate the ceasefire agreement by delaying the return of the deceased bodies. Israel and some family members have insisted that Hamas isn’t living up to its part of the deal by not returning all of the bodies.
“The understanding we had with them was we get all the live hostages out, which they did honor,” the advisor said. “Right now, we have a mechanism in place where we’re working closely with the mediators and with them to do our best to get as many bodies out as possible.”
The return of the hostages – both living and deceased — is a cornerstone of President Trump’s ceasefire plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas. Under the deal, Hamas was required to return the 20 living hostages and the remains of 28 slain hostages by Oct. 13.
While Hamas released the living hostages under the deadline, they have not returned all the bodies of deceased hostages. Hamas returned the bodies of four hostages on Monday, three on Tuesday and two more on Wednesday night. That leaves 19 deceased hostages unaccounted for.
A body that Hamas returned to Israel on Tuesday is not one of the hostages, the Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday.
“Following the completion of examinations at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the fourth body handed over to Israel by Hamas does not match any of the hostages,” the IDF said.
Hamas said in a statement on Wednesday that extensive efforts and special equipment are required to find the remaining bodies.
“The resistance has complied with the agreement and handed over all of its living prisoners and any bodies it could reach. The remaining bodies require significant efforts and specialized equipment to search for and retrieve, and we are making a great effort to close this file,” Hamas’ military wing said.
The senior U.S. advisor said the complexity of the conditions on the ground in Gaza makes it difficult to retrieve the bodies because of the amount of debris and unexploded weapons left over from Israel’s military offensive on the enclave.
“We need more resources and we’re calling on multiple countries and they’re giving us tremendous commitments,” the advisor said, adding that Turkey dispatched an 81-man team that specializes in body retrieval after earthquakes.
Late Wednesday, the Red Cross confirmed it received two more coffins containing the remains of deceased hostages, which are being transferred to Israeli authorities, the Israeli Defense Forces and the Israeli Security Agency, said in a joint statement.
The coffins were being taken to the National Center for Forensic Medicine for identification.
“Hamas is required to uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all of the hostages,” the IDF said in a statement.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a social media post on Monday that Hamas’ initial return of only four bodies constituted “a violation of the agreement” and added that “any delay or deliberate avoidance will be considered a gross violation of the agreement and will be responded to accordingly.”
During the negotiations that led to the ceasefire, Hamas’ representatives repeatedly said they did not know the location of all the remains of all deceased hostages, according to Israeli media reports.
Mr. Trump also said in Egypt on Monday that not all of the bodies of the deceased had been located, and parties were still “working out” how to locate some of the remains.
Both the Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the group that represents the hostage families, and Israel’s defense minister have said the entire peace deal should be scrapped until all of the hostages’ remains are recovered.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also warned that Hamas must disarm or face renewed military action.
Mr. Trump, whose plan called for Hamas to disarm, echoed the Israeli leader’s position.
“They’re going to disarm, because they said they are going to disarm, and if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday. “And it’ll happen quickly and perhaps violently.”
