Trump gives Hamas 48 hours to return all deceased hostage’s bodies
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President Donald Trump said Saturday that Hamas must begin returning the bodies of deceased hostages held captive by the terrorist group during the Gaza war “quickly, or other countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will take action.”
While all living hostages were repatriated from Gaza, the remains of 13 deceased hostages were not handed over by Hamas.
“Some bodies are hard to reach, but others can be returned now and, for whatever reason, they are not,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social article. “Maybe it has to do with their disarmament, but when I said, ‘Both sides will be treated fairly,’ that only applies if they meet their obligations. Let’s see what they do in the next 48 hours. I’m watching that very closely.”
Hours before Trump’s arrival, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met with the families of Itay Chen and Omer Neutra, two US citizens killed in the October 7, 2023 attacks.
President Donald Trump poses with a signed agreement during a summit of world leaders focused on ending the war in Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13. (Suzanne Plunkett/Getty Images)
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Their bodies are among those still held by Hamas.
“We will not forget the lives of the hostages who died in Hamas captivity,” Rubio wrote in an X-post. “We will not rest until their remains, and all, are returned.”
Authorities believe Chen, a 19-year-old American and Israeli citizen, was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, but was later pronounced dead by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
President Donald Trump signs the agreement during a summit of world leaders on ending the war in Gaza, part of a U.S.-brokered prisoner and hostage exchange and ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13. (Reuters)
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Neutra, 21, an American-Israeli from New York, was killed in action on October 7, 2023.
Huckabee noted that Rubio’s visit to Israel was “very productive in moving forward” the U.S.-brokered Gaza peace plan, adding that the plan cannot work until all hostages, living and deceased, are released.
During a trip to Asia on Saturday, Trump met with Qatari leaders aboard Air Force One as it refueled at Al-Udeid Air Base.
People wave Israeli and American flags on Place des Otages during a rally in support of hostages and missing families following the peace deal between Israel and Hamas. (Dana Reany/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
Trump on what it will take to bring Israeli hostages home: Hamas must be ‘confronted and destroyed’
Qatar has played an important role in efforts to negotiate peace and a ceasefire in Gaza.
After a meeting with Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Trump said: “The Emir is one of the great leaders of the world…and the Prime Minister has been my friend.” »
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Referring to the peace agreement, the president said: “What we have done is incredible: peace in the Middle East. »
Rachel Wolf of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
