U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday urged Hamas to free over the next 48 hours the remains of deceased hostages the terror group still holds in Gaza or face action by “the other countries involved” in his peace deal.
“Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly,” he said on Truth Social, “or the other countries involved in this great peace will take action.”
“Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now and, for some reason, they are not. Perhaps it has to do with their disarming,” the president continued in his post.
“When I said, ‘Both sides would be treated fairly,’ that only applies if they comply with their obligations,” he stated. “Let’s see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely.”
The Palestinian terrorist organization has slow-walked the release of the hostages’ remains, despite being obligated to return all 28 bodies on Oct. 13 in accordance with the U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
So far, Hamas has returned only 15. Israel reportedly believes that the terrorist group can locate at least 10 of the 13 remaining bodies.
Trump’s post came in the wake of a series of visits to Israel by senior U.S. officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to solidify the ceasefire deal that went into effect two weeks ago.
Rubio told reporters aboard on his plane between Tel Aviv and Doha on Saturday that Hamas “made a commitment” to demilitarize. “That’s part of this deal; they have to keep it,” Rubio said.” If they don’t keep it, then the area that they’re in will never really see the benefits of the deal.”
Israeli forces have withdrawn to the “Yellow Line,” leaving Jerusalem in control of just over half of the coastal enclave.
Rubio said the International Stabilization Force—which the United States and mediators Qatar, Egypt and Turkey are trying to build—would need to enforce security across the “Green Zone” that is outside of IDF control.
“I think, ultimately, the point of the Stabilization Force is to move that line until it covers hopefully all of Gaza, meaning all of Gaza will be demilitarized,” he said. “Ultimately, the more of Gaza is demilitarized, the more of Gaza terrorism is removed from, the more of it is going to look like that green zone—and that line will move as a result of it.”
“That’s the long-term plan. The Israelis have made it abundantly clear they have no interest in occupying Gaza,” according to the secretary.
Trump, meeting with Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani aboard Air Force One during a refueling stop in Doha en route to Asia on Saturday, said the Gulf nation had already signaled its willingness to contribute soldiers to the Gaza peacekeeping mission.
“This should be an enduring peace,” the president told journalists.
Rubio held a concluding phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before departing for Doha on Saturday.
According to Netanyahu’s office, the premier and Rubio in the call emphasized their shared commitment to continue close cooperation, “first and foremost” regarding “the return of the remaining deceased hostages and the disarming Hamas and demilitarization of Gaza.”
The prime minister and the secretary of state “discussed the outcomes of the visit and reaffirmed the deep and enduring partnership between Israel and the United States,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office stated.
Hamas has resisted both calls for its disarmament and the demand that it be excluded from the envisioned post-war governing body in the Strip.
On Saturday, Moussa Abu Marzouk, Hamas’s head of international relations and legal affairs, warned: “Excluding Hamas from maintaining stability in the Gaza Strip could lead to chaos and a security vacuum.”
Abu Marzouk claimed in the interview with Qatar’s Al Jazeera channel that Hamas currently does “not have a single” hostage body it can hand over, despite reports it was preparing to do so twice in the past week.
