The deal signed by Israel and Hamas last week required Hamas to return all remaining 48 hostages within 72 hours of the ceasefire going into place. That deadline expired on Monday at noon, and while Hamas managed to release all 20 living hostages beforehand, it only freed four out of the 28 bodies of captives still held in Gaza.
While the deal’s deadline applies to the bodies as well, the text appears to recognize that Hamas may need more time to locate all of them, setting up a joint task force of the various stakeholders in order to assist in finding all bodies not returned within 72 hours, while requiring Hamas to “exert maximum effort to ensure the fulfillment of these conditions as soon as possible.” For each deceased hostage Hamas returns, Israel is required to return 15 Palestinian bodies from the hundreds it is also holding.
“Phase two begins right NOW!!!” Trump adds in his Truth Social post. He is ostensibly referring to the parts of his 20-point plan that focus on the post-war management and reconstruction of Gaza led by a transitional government of Palestinian technocrats and overseen by a Board of Peace that will be chaired by Trump and include former UK prime minister Tony Blair and other prominent international figures. (Read More)
