United States President Donald Trump has warned Hamas that the Gaza military organization must begin returning the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages taken in an October 2023 attack or risk action from other countries involved in Middle East peace. But Donald Trump did not specify what kind of action.
In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said: “We have a very strong PEACE in the Middle East and I believe it has a good chance of being ETERNAL. Hamas will have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly, or the other countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will act.”
Donald Trump also said he had given Hamas 48 hours to return all the dead bodies or at least make progress, saying: “I’m watching this very closely.
“Some bodies are hard to reach, but others may come back now and for some reason they’re not. Maybe it has to do with their disarmament, but when I said, ‘Both sides would be treated fairly,’ that only applies if they keep their commitments. We’ll see what they do in the next 48 hours. I’m watching it very closely,” Trump added.
As Israel and Trump press Hamas to return the remains of the dead hostages, the Palestinian organization said the bodies could not be retrieved without specialized equipment.
The return of all 28 dead hostages is a condition of a US-backed ceasefire deal that came into effect when Israel and Hamas signed an agreement to suspend the war in Gaza and exchange hostages.
Israel has also threatened to stop aid to the Palestinian territories if the bodies of the deceased hostages are not returned. Also read | Trump dreams of ‘eternal peace’, sending US troops to monitor Gaza ceasefire – but who will rule the territory?
Just a day earlier, Donald Trump had urged Hamas to release the remaining bodies of the deceased hostages, claiming “the job was not done”.
In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said, “A great burden has been removed, but the work is NOT DONE. THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN BACK AS PROMISED! Phase Two begins NOW!!!”
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said it carried out an airstrike against alleged Islamic Jihad militants in central Gaza, despite a ceasefire brokered by Donald Trump.
“A moment ago, the IDF (army) carried out a precision strike in the Nuseirat area of the central Gaza Strip against a terrorist from the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization who was planning to carry out an imminent terrorist attack against IDF troops,” the army said.
