On October 16, 2025, Israel announced a renewed and intensified push to compel Hamas to return the bodies of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, a move set in motion as a multinational recovery team entered the embattled Strip under the framework of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan. The decision, reported by The Media Line, came after Hamas claimed it could not locate more remains without access to heavy equipment for clearing rubble—a statement Israeli officials flatly dismissed as untrue.
A senior Israeli official told Channel 12, “there is a double-digit number of hostages that Hamas can return,” directly contradicting Hamas’s assertion that further recovery was impossible without additional machinery. The official’s comments underscored a growing impatience in Jerusalem, where government leaders believe Hamas is deliberately withholding information about the whereabouts of Israeli hostages’ remains.
According to Channel 13, the international task force, which includes American, Turkish, Egyptian, and Qatari personnel, arrived in Gaza this week to commence searches for the hostages using intelligence provided by Israel. Their mission is clear: recover every Israeli hostage—living or deceased—per the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire plan signed in Egypt earlier this month. That agreement, which required Hamas to release “all Israeli hostages, living and deceased,” within 72 hours of Israel’s partial withdrawal, did acknowledge that some remains might be buried under mountains of debris left by months of conflict. Still, Israeli leaders argue that Hamas knows the locations of at least some of the missing, and is refusing to cooperate fully.
Since accepting the first phase of the Trump-brokered ceasefire, Hamas has returned nine bodies and released 20 living hostages, but as of October 16, nineteen bodies remain unaccounted for. This grim tally has fueled accusations from Israeli officials that Hamas is stalling, possibly using the remains as bargaining chips in ongoing negotiations. The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel informed mediators it believes Hamas knows the locations of at least six additional bodies, a claim that has only heightened tensions between the two sides.
On October 17, the situation on the ground was brought into sharp relief when locals gathered to watch as an excavator operated by members of the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, searched for the bodies of Israeli captives in Hamad City, Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. According to EPA and Al Jazeera, footage broadcast overnight showed Hamas operatives using bulldozers in Khan Younis to search for bodies, suggesting that some recovery efforts were indeed underway, albeit slowly. On that same day, Hamas handed over one more Israeli captive’s body, bringing the total number of returned remains to ten.
The ceasefire deal, hammered out in Egypt, was intended to provide a clear pathway to de-escalation and humanitarian relief, but the unresolved fate of the remaining hostages’ bodies has quickly become a flashpoint. Israeli officials have openly debated measures to increase pressure on Hamas, including blocking construction materials from entering Gaza or delaying the reopening of the Rafah Crossing until more remains are recovered. These steps, though controversial, reflect the mounting frustration among Israeli leaders and the families of the hostages.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his top advisers on October 16 to discuss the issue, and later spoke directly with President Trump. According to Israeli media, Trump expressed strong support for Israel’s planned response, signaling continued US backing for Jerusalem’s demands. Gal Hirsch, Israel’s government coordinator for hostages, told families that Hamas “is set to face increased pressure,” though he did not specify exactly what form that pressure would take.
Washington’s position was further clarified by White House envoy Steve Witkoff, who, speaking at a Holocaust Museum event in the US capital, declared, “we will pursue the return of the bodies of the deceased until they all come home.” This unequivocal statement, as reported by The Media Line, was meant to reassure both Israeli officials and the families of the missing that the US would remain engaged until the matter was resolved.
Yet the situation remains fraught. Israel maintains that many of the hostages’ remains are recoverable immediately, and accuses Hamas of breaching the Trump-brokered ceasefire by dragging its feet. The Israeli perspective is that the delays are tactical, designed to extract further concessions or to prolong Hamas’s leverage in ongoing negotiations. For its part, Hamas continues to insist that the devastation in Gaza has made it impossible to locate all the remains without significant logistical support—an assertion that Israeli officials, and many of the families affected, view with deep skepticism.
On the ground, the multinational search effort is both a symbol of international cooperation and a reminder of the complex web of interests at play in Gaza. American, Turkish, Egyptian, and Qatari personnel are working side by side in a fraught and dangerous environment, relying on intelligence from Israel and, at times, limited cooperation from Hamas. The presence of these international actors is intended to lend credibility to the process, but also to ensure that no single party can dominate the narrative or the outcome.
The stakes are high for all involved. For Israel, the return of the hostages—living and deceased—is both a moral imperative and a political necessity. The families of the missing have become a powerful force in Israeli society, demanding action and accountability from their leaders. For Hamas, the remains of the hostages represent a grim form of bargaining power, one that can be used to extract concessions or to delay further Israeli actions in Gaza. And for the international community, the recovery operation is a test of the viability of the Trump peace plan and of the ability of outside actors to play a constructive role in one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.
As the search continues, the international task force faces daunting challenges: navigating the physical dangers of a war-torn landscape, the political minefields of regional rivalries, and the emotional toll of a mission that is as much about closure as it is about diplomacy. Every recovered body is a step toward resolution, but also a stark reminder of the costs of conflict and the fragility of peace.
With each passing day, the pressure on all parties intensifies. Israeli officials weigh new measures to force Hamas’s hand, while families cling to hope that their loved ones will be returned. The multinational team presses on, sifting through rubble and negotiating access, determined to fulfill the promise of the ceasefire deal. And in the background, the world watches—hoping that diplomacy, determination, and a measure of humanity will prevail over mistrust and tragedy.