Trump hints at 'action' if Hamas doesn't return hostage bodies
The bodies of 13 deceased hostages are believed to still be in Gaza.
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
- Egyptian resources deployed in Gaza to help locate, recover Israeli hostage remains
- Netanyahu says Israel, not US, will decide security policy
- Trump hints at 'action' if Hamas doesn't return hostage bodies 'quickly’
- Rubio says West Bank annexation would 'threaten this whole process'
- Aid allowed into Gaza is still falling short of what is needed, WHO head says
Trump says US military won't be needed to disarm Hamas
After vowing to disarm Hamas "quickly and perhaps violently," President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the U.S. military will not need to get involved.
"We won't need the U.S. military," Trump said. "We won't need it."
Trump on Tuesday told ABC News White House Correspondent Karen Travers, "If they don't disarm, we will disarm them." But when asked how, Trump avoided details and didn't provide any specifics. Disarmament of the militant group is a key factor in Trump's Gaza peace proposal but was not addressed in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Trump repeated on Wednesday, "We want the weapons to be given up, sacrificed and they've agreed to do it. Now they have to do it. And if they don't do it, we'll do it."
IDF preparing plan to resume fighting if necessary: Israeli defense minister
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the Israel Defense Forces have been instructed to prepare a plan to resume fighting against Hamas if necessary.
Katz said in a statement Wednesday that he has instructed the IDF to "prepare a plan for the comprehensive defeat of Hamas in Gaza if it refuses to implement President Trump's plan and it becomes necessary to renew the fighting."
"If Hamas refuses to implement the agreement, Israel, in coordination with the U.S., will return to fighting and work to completely defeat Hamas, change the reality in Gaza, and achieve all the goals of the war," the statement continued.
2 coffins have been transferred to Red Cross, IDF says
Two coffins have been transferred to the Red Cross and are on their way to the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Security Agency members in Gaza, the IDF said.
The IDF and ISA said Hamas is required to uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the hostages.
-ABC News' Dana Savir
Red Cross on its way to receive coffins of deceased hostages in Gaza, IDF says
The Red Cross is on its way to the meeting point in northern Gaza to receive “several coffins of deceased hostages,” the IDF said in a statement.
“According to information received, the Red Cross is on its way to the meeting point in the northern Gaza Strip, where several coffins of deceased hostages will be transferred into its custody,” the IDF said.
It is unclear how many coffins will be transferred to the Red Cross at this time. Hamas has not specified how many will be handed over.
Hamas separately put out a statement saying they have “adhered to the agreement,” and “handed over all of its living prisoners and any bodies it could reach.”
“The remaining bodies require significant effort and special equipment to search for and retrieve, and we are making a great effort to close this file,” Hamas said in the statement.
-ABC News' Anna Burd