Hamas has intensified search operations to trace out the remains of deceased captives in Gaza after US President Donald Trump set a 48-hour deadline for the return of the mortal remains of the dead hostages.
Egypt has deployed hundreds of rescue workers, along with the deployment of heavy machinery, to locate the dead Israeli hostage, expected to be trapped under the massive rubble in Gaza.
Under the recent US brokered ceasefire deal, which came into effect on October 10, Hamas is expected to return all the remaining bodies of Israeli captives as soon as possible. While Israel will return 15 bodies in exchange for each body Hamas hands over to the IDF.
As the fighting on both sides ceased, Egypt is making every attempt to recover the dead bodies from the piles of rubble in Gaza, after Hamas requested assistance of heavy machinery from the mediators and international community to hasten the retrieval process.
Hamas has so far returned the remains of 15 hostages but hasn’t handed any more over the past five days. Israel, in return, has handed over Palestinian bodies, many of whom remain unidentified.
While the phase has come to an end, the next and more complicated phase is yet to begin with the disarmament of Hamas, which that group has outrightly rejected.
The US has supported the disarmament in a phased manner, saying the group is needed to govern the region before the technocrat administration takes over the affairs of the enclave.
As of October 27, 2025, Gaza remains under siege, with a deepening humanitarian crisis as Israel limits the incoming aid trucks meant to deliver critical supplies to Gaza. Additionally, Israel has also denied journalists access to the region. Keep in mind that more journalists have died in Gaza in two years compared to any other war since the 1900s.
Hamas' chief in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, said the group started searching new areas for the bodies of the remaining 13 hostages, according to comments the group shared Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned Saturday he was “watching very closely” to ensure Hamas returns more bodies in the next 48 hours. “Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now, and, for some reason, they are not,” he wrote on social media.
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