Return our dead! Israeli fury grows and Hamas stalls on returning hostages as Trump ‘violently’ threatens Hamas amid fears of ceasefire
Israel refused to increase aid that was due to flood into Gaza today after Hamas had released just eight bodies of hostages by last night.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out doubling the number of trucks to deliver the much-needed supplies amid mounting anger at the terror group’s violation of the peace plan.
US President Donald Trump last night raged on Truth Social that the job ‘IS NOT DONE’, adding: ‘THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED!’
As well as maintaining deliveries at 300 lorries per day, Israel also refused to reopen the Rafah Crossing into Egypt as planned to let Palestinians come and go from the Strip.
Hamas was supposed to return all 28 dead alongside the 20 living hostages by midday on Monday. But while the world rejoiced that all those alive came home, just four bodies were delivered, with a further four last night.
It provoked fury across Israel with calls for the government to react severely to the violation of the deal, as burying your dead is a sacred ritual in the Jewish religion.
Mr Netanyahu set a deadline for progress by the end of yesterday, prompting Hamas to announce it would hand back another quartet. And last night the Israeli military said four more ‘coffins of deceased hostages’ were collected by the Red Cross in Gaza.
Hamas has been accused of intentionally withholding dead hostages, putting the fragile peace under immense strain just days into the historic 20-point plan. It came as forensics yesterday confirmed that Yossi Sharabi’s body was among those returned on Monday, having previously identified two others as Guy Illouz and Bipin Joshi.
US President Donald Trump last night raged on Truth Social that the job ‘IS NOT DONE’, adding: ‘THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED!’
On Tuesday, the IDF revealed that Bipin Joshi was one of the deceased returned by Hamas on Monday
Guy Illuz, 26, was also identified by the IDF. The army said he tried to hide in a tree but was later captured. He was wounded and alive when he was taken, but later died due to a lack of medical treatment
Israeli media named Yossi Sharabi as one of the bodies identified by the military
Daniel Perez, 22, from Yad Binyamin, was killed in the fighting on October 7 and his body has been held in the Gaza Strip ever since
Mr Sharabi, 53, died in captivity while his British sister-in-law Lianne Sharabi, 48, was killed along with daughters Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13, at Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7.
His brother, Eli Sharabi, 52, survived captivity and was released last January.
Mr Sharabi’s wife Nira, 55, said last night: ‘Now we can end the nightmare that began more than two years ago and allow Yossi a respectful and loving burial in the land of Be’eri that he loved so much.’
Forensics also confirmed the fourth body returned on Monday was that of Captain Daniel Peretz, 22. The South African-Israeli was captured when fighting Hamas at the Nahal Oz base and died from wounds which went untreated.
Mediators and aid agencies have insisted that the terror group is simply having trouble locating that bodies given the level of destruction across the territory after two years of war and tens of thousands dead.
But local broadcaster Kan reported that the Israeli government believes Hamas is holding some back intentionally amid fears they are trying to extort more out of Israel.
An Arab diplomat involved in talks, however, told Israeli paper Haaretz that they are working on the issue and do not believe the deal is in jeopardy.
But the Hostage Forum, which represents families of the victims, was holding an emergency meeting last night and wrote to Mr Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Urging him to intervene, they said: ‘We cannot rest, and we know you will not rest, until every last hostage is returned.
‘We ask you to pull out every stop and leave no stone unturned in demanding Hamas fulfil their end of the agreement and bring all the remaining hostages home.’
IDF troops receive remains of killed hostages at official ceremony, October 13, 2025
The 24 dead hostages whose bodies remain in Gaza. Bereaved families have expressed anger and frustration that their loved ones’ bodies have not been returned
Donald Trump speaks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport before boarding his plane to Sharm El-Sheikh, on Monday
Families said Mr Witkoff’s pledge that he would dig with his ‘own fingers to find our loved ones’ was ‘forever etched in our memory’ and would ‘sustain us through the darkest moments’.
Udi Goren, who is still waiting for the return of the body of his cousin Tal Haimi, told the Daily Mail that until they are all returned, his family is left in agony.
‘We cannot move on, have closure, and be able to recover until Tal and all the dead are back home,’ he said.
‘I was actually hopeful that we would get my cousin back for the first time… I was desperately disappointed. We thought our personal struggle would be over and we could move forward, but now it carries on.’
Other families were upset by a letter sent from the prime minister’s office expressing sadness at the ‘heavy price’ they had to pay for ‘the end of the war and the return of all the hostages’.
Merav Svirsky, sister of Itay Svirsky, who was murdered in captivity and whose body was recovered last December, wrote on Facebook, ‘Sometimes one word is preferable: Sorry.’
Christian Cardon, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, warned some remains may never be found yesterday.
He said: ‘I think there is clearly a risk that that will take much more time. What we are telling the parties is that should be their top priority.’
Egyptian teams are inside Gaza assisting efforts to locate and extract the bodies in consultation with Israel, according to Qatari Al Araby news outlet.
Gal Hirsch, Israel’s pointman on hostages, insisted ‘the mission is not complete’ and told families he will ‘intensify pressure’ on Hamas until all the hostages have been returned.
It comes after the terror group handed over four bodies on Tuesday night.
Red Cross vehicles transport the bodies of deceased hostages who had been held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, after they were handed over by Hamas militants as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, October 14, 2025
Relatives of hostages whose bodies are still in Gaza Strip shout slogans calling for their release at the plaza known as hostages square, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the remains of four more hostages had been returned.
‘All the families of the hostages have been updated on the matter, and in this difficult hour, our hearts are with them,’ Netanyahu said.
‘The effort to bring back our hostages continues relentlessly and will not stop until the last hostage is returned.’
The International Committee of the Red Cross says it facilitated the transfer of the four deceased hostages to Israel and the bodies of 45 Palestinians to Gaza on Tuesday.
‘These operations were carried out in line with the ceasefire agreement, and it is crucial that the parties and mediators ensure the agreement is faithfully upheld,’ it said.
Israel also holds dead Palestinians, including many Hamas terrorists such as the October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar. They released the first batch of 45 bodies back to Gaza yesterday.
Keir Starmer said Hamas must ‘honour the terms of the ceasefire’ as the Prime Minister paid tribute to families who have ‘endured terrible and protracted pain’.
