Families of 13 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza gathered Saturday night for their weekly rally, marking 750 days since the last remains were returned. Their demands grew louder as two major developments unfolded: for the first time since the cease‑fire, Israel approved entry of a foreign team into Gaza to search for remains, and U.S. President Donald Trump issued a 48‑hour ultimatum to Hamas.
Trump, writing on his social‑media platform during a refuelling stop in Doha, said: “We have a very strong peace in the Middle East, and I believe it has a good chance of being everlasting. 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. Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now and, for some reason, they are not.”
The foreign team, from Egypt, entered Gaza Saturday evening with two heavy engineering vehicles at locations provided by Israel, which also denied entry this week to a Turkish rescue delegation of 81 personnel. According to Israeli intelligence, Hamas currently holds the remains of eight hostages and does not know the location of the remaining five.
Hamas deputy leader Mousa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera, “We are committed to returning all the bodies we can reach. The Trump administration is the guarantor of the deal and we expect it to act fairly. Excluding Hamas from Gaza’s security responsibility may lead to chaos and a security vacuum.”
Israel had urged the U.S. to set a deadline before imposing sanctions on Hamas, but Washington had initially opposed this approach despite agreeing that Hamas was stalling. U.S. officials feared that sweeping sanctions could collapse the cease‑fire agreement and preferred to maintain diplomatic pressure.
The engineering team’s entry into Gaza was coordinated after senior Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad visited Israel, and an Israeli security team travelled to Cairo to finalise the arrangement. Egypt is expected to lead the search for the remains, having committed to facilitating the effort.
“We are seeing signs of serious effort from all sides — including Hamas — to locate and retrieve the bodies,” a senior Israeli official said Saturday. A cabinet minister added: “We know Hamas could release more remains immediately with little effort — and the fact they haven’t shows us this is about timing and leverage. We are coordinating with the Americans, Hamas is playing for time.”
Trump with the Emir of Qatar
(Video: Reuters)
Trump, aboard Air Force One with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, reaffirmed the deal’s durability, saying: “You have a safe Middle East right now, and you’re going to keep it that way for a very long time.” He added the multinational stabilization force for Gaza would be established “soon,” and that Qatar would contribute forces “if needed.”
The contrasting stances highlight the growing tension: Israel continues to delay reopening the Rafah crossing as leverage, with U.S. approval, but the U.S. is blocking Israeli plans to renew strikes, re‑arrest West Bank prisoners or cut humanitarian aid — preferring diplomatic channels to avoid jeopardising the cease‑fire.
As the clock runs down on Trump’s ultimatum, families of the fallen remain in limbo, with the rally’s slogan still resonating: “Until the last hostage is home.”