Remains of American Israeli hostage among 3 bodies returned by Hamas, IDF says
Israeli forces said they resumed the Gaza ceasefire after strikes on Tuesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump pressed Hamas to act faster in returning the bodies of deceased hostages amid a delicate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
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 wrought in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday instructed the country's military to "carry out powerful strikes in Gaza," a statement from his office said, in response to alleged ceasefire violations by Hamas.
The Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday they had resumed the ceasefire.
Key Headlines
International Committee of the Red Cross accompanies Hamas as search for hostage bodies continues in Gaza
The International Committee of the Red Cross accompanied Hamas, with permission from Israeli forces, to parts of Gaza past the yellow line on Sunday, the ICRC said. The humanitarian organization did this as Hamas continued their operations in looking for the remaining 13 bodies of hostages still being held in Gaza.
They accompanied Hamas to provide any needed technical guidance, an ICRC official said. ICRC staff were present at a search site in Gaza City on Monday for the same purpose, the official added.
The ICRC does not participate in searching for the deceased or in physical recovery of the remains, the organization said.
"Under international humanitarian law, it is the responsibility of the parties to search for, collect and retrieve human remains," the ICRC said in a statement.
-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman
Egyptian resources deployed in Gaza to help locate, recover Israeli hostage remains
Egyptian state-linked media confirmed Saturday evening that the country has deployed equipment and a specialized team to the Gaza Strip to help locate and recover the bodies of Israeli hostages who remain missing.
Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya also confirmed that “new areas will be entered” on Sunday to search for the bodies of the missing hostages, according to a write-up on Hamas’ official website summarizing Al-Hayya’s interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday.
"We will not give the occupation a pretext to resume the war. ... We have no reservations on any national figure residing in Gaza to administer the Gaza Strip. ... Our weapons are linked to the presence of occupation and aggression; if the occupation ends, these weapons will be transferred to the state," al-Hayya added in the Al Jazeera interview.
-ABC News' Ayat Altawy, Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller and Samy Zyara
Netanyahu says Israel, not US, will decide security policy
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a Sunday cabinet meeting to push back on recent suggestions that the U.S. is dictating security policy on Gaza.
"Israel is an independent state, the United States is an independent state," Netanyahu said.
"The relations between us are those of partners," he said, adding, "I want to make one thing clear -- it is our own security policy. We are not prepared to tolerate attacks against us, we respond according to our own discretion against attacks, as we have seen in Lebanon and in Gaza."
Netanyahu also said Israel is not seeking approval for military attacks and addressed the issue of international teams meant to monitor the ceasefire deal in Gaza.
"We control our own security and we have made it clear to the international forces that Israel will determine which forces are acceptable to us, and that is how we operate and will continue to operate," he said.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Victoria Beaule
Trump hints at 'action' if Hamas doesn't return hostage bodies 'quickly’
President Donald Trump pressed Hamas to return the bodies of all deceased hostages or face "action" from nations involved in the Gaza ceasefire plan.
"We have a very strong PEACE in the Middle East, and I believe it has a good chance of being EVERLASTING," Trump wrote in a Saturday social media post.
"Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly, or the other Countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will take action," Trump added.
The bodies of 13 hostages are still believed to be in Gaza. Hamas committed to returning all living and deceased captives being held in the strip as part of the ceasefire deal reached earlier this month. All 20 living hostages and the bodies of 15 deceased captives have so far been released.
Hamas officials have said the group is continuing to search for the remaining hostage bodies, saying the devastation caused by Israel's attacks on Gaza has complicated recovery efforts.
-ABC News' Hannah Demissie