Trump hints at 'action' if Hamas doesn't return hostage bodies

The bodies of 13 deceased hostages are believed to still be in Gaza.

ByKevin Shalvey, Jon Haworth, Emily Shapiro, Nadine El-Bawab, and David Brennan
Last Updated: October 24, 2025, 10:52 AM EDT

U.S. officials -- including Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner -- traveled to Israel this week for high-level meetings, discussing the next steps in the delicate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Israel has accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire deal by withholding the bodies of the remaining 13 deceased hostages thought to have died during or after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas has said the return of the remaining bodies "may take some time" due to the destruction.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Oct 20, 2025, 3:27 PM EDT

Vance heading to Israel shortly

Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance will "depart shortly for Israel," according to a spokesman for Vance.

Special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law and businessman Jared Kushner arrived in Israel on Monday morning to bolster the ceasefire agreement and to continue implementation of the second phase of Trump's 20-point Gaza plan.

Vance acknowledged the negotiations are going to be "complicated," and U.S. officials have urged caution in recent days, suggesting the next phase will play out in several weeks and months to come.

Oct 20, 2025, 2:49 PM EDT

Hamas says they need more equipment to retrieve remaining bodies

A Hamas spokesperson said that the destruction in Gaza is delaying their ability to hand over the remaining Israeli hostage bodies, and said they will need more equipment to retrieve them.

The spokesperson also accused the Israelis of violating the ceasefire agreement.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Oct 20, 2025, 2:47 PM EDT

Coffin of deceased Israeli returns to Israel

The coffin of a deceased Israeli has now arrived in Israeli territory and will be taken for identification at the Israeli Ministry of Health’s National Institute for Forensic Medicine, Israeli officials said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said its members facilitated the transfer of remains of a deceased hostage.

Oct 20, 2025, 2:31 PM EDT

Nearly 1,000 aid trucks entering Gaza on Monday: Trump administration

The Kerem Shalom and Kissufim crossings have reopened, allowing desperately needed aid into Gaza.

Displaced Palestinians carry boxes of food supplies that entered Gaza in the morning after receiving it from an aid distribution point at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, October 20, 2025.
Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images

On Thursday, 950 trucks entered Gaza, and from Friday to Sunday, 936 trucks crossed over, according to a senior Trump administration official. Another 990 trucks are projected to cross on Monday, the official said.

-ABC News’ Mariam Khan

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