 The body of an Israeli hostage is returned to Israel as part of a prisoner-hostage swap and a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, at his funeral in Kfar Saba, Israel October 16, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov) |
A dispute over the return of hostages' bodies held by Hamas threatens to derail the truce and other unresolved elements of the plan, including disarmament of militants and Gaza’s future governance.
Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian told reporters Israel remained committed to the agreement and continued to uphold its obligations, demanding Hamas return the bodies of the 19 deceased hostages it had not handed over.
Hamas said it remained committed to the Gaza agreement and to handing over all the remaining bodies of hostages, but that returning the remains may take time as some were buried in tunnels destroyed by Israel and others were under the ruins of buildings that Israel had bombed.
On Thursday, a senior Hamas official accused Israel of flouting the ceasefire by killing at least 24 people in shootings since Friday.
