For the third day running, the return of deceased Israeli hostages’ bodies from Gaza has been stalled, putting the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas under renewed strain. According to reporting from Kan and Shafaq News, Hamas continues to delay handing over the remains, despite reportedly having the capacity to do so. The deadlock has left 13 hostages still unaccounted for in Gaza as of October 25, 2025, and has triggered a cascade of diplomatic tensions, not only between Israel and Hamas, but also between Israel and its most powerful ally, the United States.
The backdrop to this standoff is a US-brokered agreement, which required Hamas to release 20 living hostages and the bodies of 28 others. While all living captives have been freed, only 15 bodies have been returned so far. The phased process began on October 13, 2025, with the transfer of the bodies of Guy Ilouz, Bipin Joshi, Yossi Sharabi, and Daniel Peretz to Israel. The next day, Tamir Nimrodi, Uriel Baruch, Eitan Levy, and a Palestinian Authority resident were returned. The following week saw the arrival of remains belonging to Inbar Heyman and Muhammad al-Atrash on October 15, Eliyahu Margalit on October 17, Thai citizen Sonthaya Oakkharasri and Ronen Engel on October 18, Tal Haimi on October 20, and Arye (Zalman) Zalmanovich and Tamir Adar on October 21. Each return has been accompanied by Israel’s transfer of 15 militants’ bodies to Gaza, as stipulated in the exchange agreement.
Despite this progress, the process has ground to a halt. Israeli officials have not ruled out the possibility that two more bodies could be returned soon, but the sense of urgency is palpable. The delay, according to Kan, is widely believed to be a calculated move by Hamas to prolong the ceasefire and prevent the peace process from advancing to its next phase—a phase which the US administration has explicitly tied to the disarmament of Hamas. Israeli intelligence officials, for their part, are convinced that Hamas could immediately hand over at least ten of the remaining bodies. Yet, American officials have taken a different tack, maintaining that Hamas is not deliberately violating the deal, but is instead facing real difficulties locating remains buried under Gaza’s extensive rubble. As White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt put it on October 24, “recovery will take time.”
In the midst of this, the United States has taken an unusually hands-on approach. Senior American officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance, are reportedly “personally overseeing” the enforcement of the truce. US envoys Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner have been in close contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him not to take any unilateral steps that could jeopardize the hard-won ceasefire. One senior US official told Kan News that Israel should “refrain from actions that might endanger a regional breakthrough.”
That message has not been universally well-received in Israel. The Israeli government, under mounting pressure from the families of the deceased hostages, is facing a groundswell of public frustration. Protests have erupted, most notably at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, where families and supporters have rallied to demand the immediate return of all the remaining bodies. Their pain and impatience are evident; for them, closure remains agonizingly out of reach.
Tensions have been further inflamed by political developments in Jerusalem. On October 22, the Knesset approved two controversial bills aimed at extending Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank—a move that drew sharp rebukes from Washington. The following day, Bezalel Smotrich, a member of Israel’s ruling coalition, made a derogatory remark about Saudi Arabia, suggesting the kingdom should “ride camels” instead of normalizing relations with Israel. According to Kan, these incidents have contributed to a noticeable chill in US-Israeli relations, with President Donald Trump even threatening aid reductions should Israel continue to “test the patience of Arab states.”
All of this plays out against the backdrop of a complicated and emotionally charged prisoner exchange. The release of hostages by Hamas began on October 13, 2025, and culminated with the freeing of the last 20 survivors in exchange for the release of approximately 2,000 prisoners by Israel—many of whom were deported to Egypt. The arrangement was intended to be a confidence-building measure, paving the way for broader peace talks. But the current impasse over the return of bodies has cast a shadow over those hopes.
The American position is nuanced, if not fraught. On the one hand, US officials acknowledge the pain and frustration of Israeli families. On the other, they are acutely aware of the regional implications of any escalation. The White House, through Press Secretary Leavitt, has stressed the need for patience, while envoys Witkoff and Kushner have worked behind the scenes to keep the lines of communication open. Secretary of State Rubio and Vice President Vance’s personal involvement underscores just how critical Washington views the situation—not only for Israeli-Palestinian relations, but for the broader stability of the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Israeli intelligence remains skeptical of Hamas’s explanations. While American officials cite the difficulty of recovering remains from beneath the rubble of war-torn Gaza, Israeli sources insist that Hamas could return at least ten more bodies immediately if it chose to do so. The gap between these perspectives reflects the deep mistrust that continues to define relations between the two sides, even as the United States tries to serve as an honest broker.
For the families of those still missing, the diplomatic wrangling and political posturing offer little comfort. Their demands are simple and heartbreaking: the immediate return of their loved ones’ remains. As one protestor at Hostages Square told Kan, “We just want to bring them home. Nothing else matters until we do.”
As October draws to a close, the fate of the remaining hostages—and the prospects for a lasting ceasefire—hang in the balance. With the United States urging restraint, Hamas playing for time, and Israel’s patience wearing thin, the coming days are likely to test the limits of diplomacy and the endurance of those waiting for closure.
In a region where every gesture carries outsized significance, the return of the last hostages’ bodies has become a litmus test for the ceasefire’s durability and for the willingness of all parties to move beyond cycles of violence and retribution. Whether that test will be passed remains, for now, an open question.
