Trump gives Hamas 48 hours to return all deceased hostage bodies
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President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Hamas must quickly begin returning the bodies of hostages who died and were held captive by the terrorist organization during the war in Gaza, or other countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will take action.
While all of the living hostages were returned from Gaza, the remains of the 13 dead hostages were not handed over by Hamas.
“Some bodies are hard to come by, but some may be back now, and for some reason they can’t,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. to mail. “Maybe it’s about their disarmament, but when I say ‘Both sides will be treated fairly’, that’s only valid if they fulfill their obligations. Let’s see what they do in the next 48 hours. I’m watching this very closely.”
Hours before Trump’s post, 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 at a summit of world leaders focused on ending the Gaza war on October 13 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. (Suzanne Plunkett/Getty Images)
TRUMP THANKS THE GROUP REPRESENTING HOSTAGE FAMILIES FOR THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE APPEAL
Their bodies are still among those held by Hamas.
“We will not forget the lives of the hostages who died in Hamas captivity,” Rubio wrote in the X post. “We will not rest until their remains, and all of them, are returned.”
Authorities believed Chen, a 19-year-old dual US-Israeli citizen, was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, but was later declared dead by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
President Donald Trump signed the agreement Oct. 13 at a summit of world leaders in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on ending the war in Gaza amid a U.S.-brokered prisoner-hostage exchange and a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. (Reuters)
TRUMP SAID HAMAS COULD RELEASE 20 HOSTAGES ‘A LITTLE EARLY’ WHILE HEADING TO THE MIDDLE EAST
Neutra, 21, an American-Israeli from New York, was killed in combat on October 7, 2023.
Huckabee said Rubio’s visit to Israel was “very productive in advancing” the US-brokered Gaza peace plan, adding that the plan could not work without the release of all hostages, living and dead.
Traveling to Asia on Saturday, Trump met with Qatari leaders aboard Air Force One while refueling at Al-Udeid Air Base.
People wave Israeli and American flags in Hostages Square during a rally in support of hostages and missing families following the Israel-Hamas peace agreement. (Dana Reany/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
TRUMP EXPLAINED WHAT IT WILL TAKE TO BRING ISRAELI HOSTAGES HOME: HAMAS MUST BE FIGHTED AND DESTROYED
Qatar played an important role in efforts to negotiate peace and a ceasefire in Gaza.
“The Emir is one of the greatest rulers in the world… and the Prime Minister is my friend,” Trump said after meeting with Qatar Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
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Referring to the peace agreement, the president said, “What we have done is incredible; peace in the Middle East.” he said.
Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
