Israel is urging Hamas to resume returning the bodies of deceased hostages, with four of the remaining 13 still unaccounted for.
According to Kan public broadcaster, Israeli officials have appealed to Washington to pressure Hamas, which has not handed over any remains since Tuesday. Hamas claims it cannot locate all bodies, but Israel insists the group is withholding information in violation of the October 9 ceasefire deal.
Vice President JD Vance, visiting the region, was briefed by IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, who highlighted Israel’s decade-long effort to recover the body of soldier Hadar Goldin, killed in 2014.
Efforts to locate the bodies now include teams from Egypt and the Red Cross, with Hamas operatives reportedly allowed into IDF-controlled areas to assist.
Before the ceasefire, Hamas held 28 bodies and has since returned 15, alongside 20 surviving hostages. The delay has strained the fragile truce, as Hamas officials continue to reject disarmament terms outlined in President Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan.
Israel maintains that Hamas’s full disarmament and transparency are essential to ending the war and beginning Gaza’s reconstruction.
