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

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

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.

Oct 21, 2025, 5:05 PM EDT

Hamas meets with Turkish officials in Doha to discuss what it calls Israel's violations of ceasefire

A Hamas leadership delegation met with Turkey’s foreign and intelligence ministers in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday to communicate how they feel Israel is not maintaining their end of the fragile ceasefire currently in place on Tuesday.

The ceasefire, which went into effect on Oct. 10, included an agreement to increase the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza and to open additional crossing points into Gaza.

Twelve days into the ceasefire, additional border crossing points have not opened. Aid organizations, like the World Food Program, are saying that while the amount of aid getting into Gaza has increased, it’s still not as much as is needed.

Israel has alleged that Hamas is violating the terms of the ceasefire because the remains of all of the dead hostages who were still being held in Gaza have not been returned to Israel yet. The Trump administration has pushed back on this claim, saying that Hamas is working to return the remains of hostages, some of which could be under rubble or their whereabouts are unknown.

Hamas said Israel is “stalling the implementation of the agreement through repeated violations in recent days, failing to open the Rafah Crossing for the travel of patients and the wounded and preventing the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”

Oct 21, 2025, 4:34 PM EDT

UK troops sent to Israel to support US-led efforts for 'Gaza post-conflict stability'

A small number of UK troops have been sent to Israel to help with “US-led planning efforts for Gaza post-conflict stability,” a UK Ministry of Defense spokesperson told ABC News.

“The UK continues to work with international partners to support the Gaza ceasefire to see where the UK can best contribute to the peace process,” the spokesperson said.

-ABC News' Mike Trew

Oct 21, 2025, 3:51 PM EDT

'Overwhelming’ demand for food aid in Gaza as fragile ceasefire holds, WFP says

There is "overwhelming" demand for food aid in Gaza and greater aid access is needed to prevent the spread of famine, the World Food Programme said in a statment Tuesday.

“Daily deliveries continue and they are now averaging around 750 tonnes,” Abeer Etefa, senior regional communications officer for the World Food Programme, said in a statement. “That's much better than what we had before the ceasefire, but it's still well below our target, which is around 2,000 tonnes every day.”

Palestinian children gather to receive food portions from a charity kitchen in the Nuseirat refugee camp, located in the central Gaza Strip, October 21, 2025.
Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images

The WFP called for more border crossings to open to allow in life-saving food.

"People are showing up in large numbers, grateful for the efficiency of the delivery of food assistance” as well as the “dignified way” in which they are able to stand in line and quickly obtain their food rations," Etefa said.

Oct 21, 2025, 3:50 PM EDT

2 coffins returned to IDF custody in Gaza

Two coffins carrying hostage remains have been turned over to Israel Defense Forces custody in Gaza, the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a release.

Once they’re back in Israel, they will be taken for identification at the Israeli Ministry of Health’s National Center for Forensic Medicine, according to the prime minister's office.

Hamas turned over the coffins to the Red Cross at a meeting point in Gaza. The Red Cross then transferred the coffins to the IDF.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

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