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 13, 2025, 5:11 AM EDT

The final 13 freed hostages are identified

The final 13 hostages who were handed over to the Red Cross on Monday have been identified by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.

The office identified them as: David and Ariel Kunio, Avinan Or, Elkana Buhbot, Rom Breslavsky, David Avitar, Eitan Horn, Maxim Harkin, Nimrod Cohen, Segev Kalfon, Matan Tsengauker, Yosef-Chaim Ohana and Bar Kuperstein.

"Their families have been informed by the authorized authorities that they have joined our forces in the Gaza Strip and will soon make their way to Israeli territory," the prime minister’s office said. "The Israeli government, the security establishment, the Coordinator of the National Repatriation Service and the Directorate of Abductees, Missing Persons and Returnees in the Prime Minister's Office will accompany them and their families throughout the entire absorption and rehabilitation process."

Oct 13, 2025, 4:40 AM EDT

13 remaining hostages transferred to Red Cross, IDF says

The 13 remaining hostages expected to be released on Monday were handed over to the Red Cross, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross arrive in the south of Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip to receive the second batch of hostages expected to be released, on Oct. 13, 2025.
Bashar Taleb/AFP via Getty Images

The IDF and Shin Bet, the Israeli security service, were expected to help escort the 13 out of the Gaza Strip, the IDF said.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Victoria Beaule

Oct 13, 2025, 3:11 AM EDT

Family of Omri Miran releases statement

The family of Omri Miran, one of the seven Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Monday, has released a statement after he was handed over to IDF troops in the Gaza Strip.

"After more than 700 long, painful, and agonizing days, Omri will finally receive from Roni and Alma a healing embrace," Miran's family said. "We want to thank the people of Israel from the bottom of our hearts for standing by us in the darkest hours and on days when this moment seemed like a distant and impossible wish. This moment, today, is not a personal victory but a victory of an entire people."

Relatives of Israeli hostage, Omri Miran, kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, watch broadcasts related to his release as part of a hostages-prisoners swap and a ceasefire deal in Gaza between Hamas and Israel.
Courtesy Of Sourasky Medical Center via Reuters

"We also want to express our deep gratitude to the security forces and the heroic IDF soldiers. We are at the beginning of a complex and challenging, yet moving, journey of recovery," the statement continued. "We remain committed to the struggle -- until the last hostage returns, and until the complete recovery of our beloved country. May Omri's return mark the beginning of this recovery and the unity of our people."

Oct 13, 2025, 3:00 AM EDT

Trump arrives in Israel ahead of address

U.S. President Donald Trump arrived on Monday morning in Israel, where he’s where he's expected to address the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport on the outskirts of Lod near Tel Aviv on Oct. 13, 2025, as he travels to Israel and Egypt.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

The White House released the welcome message that Air Force One received as it entered Israeli airspace.

"Welcome to the state of Israel, Mr. President," the Ben Gurion Airport control tower said, according to the White House. "Your visit carries deep meaning for people in this time. Thank you for your friendship and unbreakable bond between our nations. God bless America and God bless Israel."

-ABC News’ Alex Ederson

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