On October 17, 2025, the battered landscape of Gaza bore witness to a tense and emotional scene: Hamas, under the watchful eyes of the world, deployed bulldozers to dig through the rubble of Hamad City in Khan Younis, searching for the remains of dead Israeli hostages. This somber task, carried out in the shadow of destroyed apartment towers, underscored the fragility of the current ceasefire with Israel and the immense challenges both sides face in moving forward.
The ceasefire, brokered with the involvement of former U.S. President Donald Trump, set a clear deadline: by October 13, all hostages—living and dead—were to be returned. Yet, as the deadline passed, only the remains of nine hostages, plus a tenth body disputed by Israel, had been handed over by Hamas. The group insists it remains committed to the deal, but retrieving the bodies has proven far more difficult than anticipated. In a statement attributed to Hamas and reported by the Associated Press, the militant group explained, "Some hostages’ remains are in tunnels or buildings that were later destroyed by Israel, and heavy machinery is required to dig through rubble to retrieve them."
Hamas has placed the blame for delays squarely on Israel, stating that the Israeli government has not permitted new bulldozers to enter the Gaza Strip. The war has left most of Gaza’s heavy equipment in ruins, forcing Palestinians to make do with the scant machinery that remains as they attempt to clear the massive destruction caused by months of fighting. On Friday, two battered bulldozers worked methodically, digging up earth in a desperate search for closure for the families of the hostages.
The stakes are high for both sides. U.S. President Donald Trump, who played a key role in brokering the ceasefire, issued a stark warning: if Hamas fails to return all hostages’ bodies, he will give Israel the green light to resume its military campaign. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has echoed this uncompromising stance, declaring, "Israel will not compromise" and demanding that Hamas fulfill every requirement of the ceasefire deal regarding the return of hostages’ bodies.
Obstacles abound. According to American officials cited by the Associated Press, the effort to recover bodies is hampered not only by the sheer scale of the devastation but also by the presence of dangerous, unexploded ordnance scattered throughout Gaza. Hamas has also told mediators that some bodies are located in areas currently under Israeli military control, further complicating retrieval efforts. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan voiced concern at a press conference in Ankara, warning that Israel could use Hamas’ "lack of equipment" as a pretext to resume hostilities.
Despite these challenges, there have been some breakthroughs. On October 13, Hamas released all 20 living Israeli hostages, fulfilling a key part of the ceasefire agreement. In exchange, Israel freed approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The emotional weight of these exchanges is palpable on both sides of the border. In Israel, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum—a group representing the families of hostages—has vowed to continue holding weekly rallies until all remains are returned.
The return of bodies has not been a one-way street. Israel has sent back the bodies of 90 Palestinians to Gaza for burial, with more expected to follow, though officials have not disclosed how many remain in Israeli custody or how many will ultimately be returned. A Palestinian forensics team that examined the remains reported signs of mistreatment on some of the bodies, further fueling tensions and grief.
The human cost of the conflict is staggering. According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which is run by Hamas but whose casualty records are generally regarded as reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts, nearly 68,000 Palestinians have been killed since the outbreak of hostilities. Thousands more remain missing, according to the Red Cross. The roots of this latest cycle of violence trace back to the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, when Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people and took roughly 250 hostages.
As the ceasefire holds—albeit precariously—international actors are scrambling to stabilize the region and prevent a return to all-out war. France has taken a leading role, with French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux announcing that France is working alongside Britain and the U.S. to propose a U.N. resolution in the coming days. The resolution aims to create a framework for an international stabilization force in Gaza, with Arab countries expected to contribute troops. This force would oversee Egyptian-trained Palestinian police, but crucial details regarding funding, equipment, and participating nations remain unresolved. As Confavreux put it, "Arab countries want a U.N. mandate for the force." Turkey’s Foreign Minister Fidan added, "Our goal is to create an environment of a buffer zone where each side can no longer harm each other."
Meanwhile, Gaza’s humanitarian crisis persists. The ceasefire agreement stipulated that 600 aid trucks should be allowed into Gaza each day, but reality has fallen far short of that target. The U.N. dashboard tracking aid deliveries shows that only 339 U.N.-coordinated trucks have offloaded supplies for distribution since the ceasefire began on October 10. The Israeli defense body COGAT reported higher numbers—950 trucks on October 16 and 716 on October 15—but these figures include commercial and bilateral aid, not just humanitarian relief. Crossings were closed on October 13 and 14 for the exchange of hostages and prisoners and for a Jewish holiday, further slowing the flow of aid.
On the ground, the situation remains dire. Nahed Sheheiber, head of Gaza’s private truckers’ union, told the Associated Press that improved security has helped prevent looting of aid convoys, but supplies have not increased significantly. "Only 70 trucks went in Thursday," he noted—a far cry from what is needed to address the needs of Gaza’s more than 2 million residents. Throughout the war, Israel tightly restricted aid entry, at times allowing only a trickle and, for two months earlier this year, completely barring food in an attempt to pressure Hamas to release hostages. The U.N. has verified more than 400 deaths from malnutrition-related causes, including over 100 children, and famine was declared in Gaza City. Israel maintains it allowed enough food in, accusing Hamas of stealing much of it—a claim the U.N. and other aid agencies deny.
As the world watches and waits, the people of Gaza and Israel remain caught in a web of grief, uncertainty, and hope. The fate of the ceasefire, the return of the remaining hostages’ bodies, and the prospects for lasting peace all hang in the balance, shaped by the actions and decisions unfolding now in the ruins of Gaza and the corridors of international diplomacy.