President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated that Phase 2 of his peace plan for Gaza is underway, even as a major component of the first phase remains unfinished — the return of all the dead hostages to Israel.
Of the 28 dead hostages known to be in Gaza, four have been returned, and Hamas has promised to return four more bodies Tuesday night.
"ALL TWENTY HOSTAGES ARE BACK AND FEELING AS GOOD AS CAN BE EXPECTED. A big burden has been lifted, but the job IS NOT DONE. THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED! Phase Two begins right NOW!!!" Trump said in a post to Truth Social on Tuesday afternoon.
Axios reported Tuesday, citing a senior Israeli official, that Hamas has shown increased effort in recent hours to locate the dead hostages. The official emphasized that Israel has made clear through mediators that the return of the dead is a vital and nonnegotiable part of the agreement, and it expects Hamas to make every effort to locate and hand them over.
Hamas initially underestimated Israel's resolve on the issue but has since realized that Israel possesses detailed knowledge of the number and whereabouts of the bodies, making it harder for the group to deny responsibility, according to the report.
Meanwhile, a key tenet of Trump's Phase 2 is the disarmament of Hamas which, in turn, would compel the full withdrawal of the Israeli military from parts of the Gaza Strip it currently holds. However, Hamas has said disarmament is "out of the question."
"The main issue still hasn't been solved: Hamas' weapons," Akram Atallah, a London-based Palestinian columnist, told The New York Times. "The Israelis are demanding Hamas disarm, which is not a simple administrative measure. Hamas was founded on the basis of bearing arms."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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