US to offer rewards for help finding deceased hostages in Gaza Strip
Amb. Waltz: No one will be left behind in Gaza
US Ambassador to the UN Michael Waltz joined ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss efforts to return American bodies held by Hamas, the drug boat that attacked Venezuela and why the US is a ‘definite no’ to the UN’s global carbon tax proposal.
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The United States plans to offer rewards to Gazans who help find the bodies of deceased hostages held by Hamas, a pair of senior White House advisers told reporters Wednesday evening.
“We’ll probably create some kind of program where we’ll ask people if they can help us locate bodies. And we’ll pay rewards for such good behavior,” one consultant said.
As part of the ceasefire agreement, all 20 surviving hostages and nine bodies of the dead were returned to Israel. Nineteen bodies have not yet been located.
Hamas claims that it does not know the locations of the other bodies and that “significant effort and special equipment” would be required to locate them.
IDF SAYS THE BODY DELIVERED BY HAMAS DOES NOT MATCH ANY HOSTAGE
Former Israeli hostage Eitan Horn embraces his family and friends after returning home Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, following his release under a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. (Stoyan Nenov/Reuters)
An adviser pressed charges that Hamas was violating ceasefire agreements, insisting that the terms of the deal prioritized living hostages and saying they expected bodies would be difficult to find in the war zone.
Still, they added: “I can say we won’t be leaving until everyone comes home.”
“We heard a lot of people say, you know, that Hamas violated the agreement because not all of the bodies were returned. I think the agreement we had with them was that we were going to get all the live hostages out, and they respected that.”
EXCLUSIVE: ISRAEL AMBASSADOR SAYS THERE WILL BE PEACE IN GAZA UNLESS HAMAS SURRENDERS AND DISARMS ALL 48 HOSTAGES
Israeli intelligence and Turkish search experts trained for Türkiye’s frequent earthquakes will assist in efforts to locate the remaining 19 bodies.
“You have to understand the complexity of the conditions on the ground,” one consultant said. “The entire Gaza Strip has been destroyed. It looks like something out of a movie. And there are very, very few buildings left standing.”
The consultant equated debris levels to levels seen after the event. September 11 attack At the World Trade Center. “This feels like, I don’t know, more than once.”
The presence of unexploded ordnance in the middle of the debris makes removing the body even more difficult.
An advisor also detailed plans to create “safe zones” behind the Yellow Line (the area in Gaza still occupied by the Israel Defense Forces) for Palestinians seeking to escape Hamas as the militant group carries out executions along the strip.
Armed Hamas terrorists stand guard in Rafah, Gaza, during the group’s ongoing clashes with rival groups. (Reuters/Hatem Halid/File Photo)
“Israel is committed to ensuring the security of the people of Gaza who want to live in peace. So this is a new line of effort that we are calling for. And trying to establish this has been met with great enthusiasm by Israel.”
There are reports of violent clashes between Hamas and rival groups in areas across Gaza, and videos circulating on social media appear to show executions.
An adviser told reporters he told Hamas to stop the killings.
“There are numerous reports in Gaza of Hamas killing and hunting down Palestinian civilians. This is something we are working with mediators to say we really want this to stop.”
Hayam Meqdad, a 49-year-old Palestinian, walks on the rubble of her destroyed home in Gaza City on October 15, 2025, one day after the ceasefire came into force. (Ibrahim Haccac/Reuters)
“We’re seeing different actions on all sides that President Trump and his team are working very hard to minimize.”
An Israeli military official told Fox News Digital that the killings were “a deliberate attempt by Hamas to make the killings public and re-establish its rule by terrorizing civilians.”
Trump claimed earlier this week that Hamas was carrying out police activities and that those killed were gang members.
“[Hamas] “We want to stop the problems and they were open about it and we gave them approval for a while,” he said.
“There are close to 2 million people returning to destroyed buildings, and a lot of bad things can happen. We want it to be safe, too.”
“They took out some very bad, very, very bad gangs,” the president added Tuesday.
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“And to be honest it didn’t bother me that much,” he added.
On Monday, Hamas returns all living hostagesIt gives a positive sign to the historic but weak ceasefire agreement with Israel. The IDF also retreated behind what became known as “” in Gaza.yellow line,” part of Phase One of the agreement.
Fox News’ Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.
