President Donald Trump has asserted on Truth Social that the Gaza ceasefire deal is immediately moving to its next stage even as the days-old truce appears increasingly fragile.
A crucial aspect of phase two of Trump’s peace plan is for a surge of humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, as masses of Palestinian people face starvation and parts of the territory have had famine declared.
“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!!!”
Donald Trump
Yesterday, Israelis celebrated the return of the last 20 living hostages in Gaza and Palestinians rejoiced at Israel’s release of nearly 2,000 prisoners and detainees as part of the ceasefire’s first phase.
Hamas also returned the remains of four dead hostages, but had previously warned that recovering those of another 24 still in Gaza may take longer as not all burial sites have been identified.
Hamas has told mediators that the remains of four hostages will be transferred to Israel tonight at 10pm local time.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) acknowledged today that delays could be expected, describing handing over the remains of all hostages as a “massive challenge” given the difficulties of finding bodies amid the territory’s rubble.
Christian Cardon, an ICRC official, said at a news briefing in Geneva, “The search for human remains, it’s obviously [an] even bigger challenge than having … the people alive being released.”
Indeed on Sunday, US Vice President JD Vance acknowledged the challenges and said that locating some of the bodies would take longer, while some may never be found.
“The reality is that some of the hostages may never get back, but I do think, with some effort, we’ll be able to give them to their families so they at least have some closure.”
JD Vance
Israel Limits Aid, Keeps Rafah Crossing Closed In Dispute Over Hostage Remains
Meanwhile, Israel said that the flow of aid into the devastated Palestinian territory would be cut by half and the crucial Rafah border crossing with Egypt would not open as planned, accusing Hamas of breaching the US-brokered agreement by withholding the bodies of Israeli hostages.
Israel informed the UN it will allow only 300 aid trucks – half the agreed number – to enter Gaza from tomorrow, Wednesday, October 15, 2025.
Under the US-brokered ceasefire at least 600 trucks carrying desperately needed aid should be entering war-battered Gaza each day.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli military body overseeing aid flows, said that the restrictions were being imposed because “Hamas violated the agreement regarding the release of the bodies of the hostages.” It added that no fuel or gas will be permitted except for “specific humanitarian infrastructure needs.”
Israeli military officials believe Hamas knows where more of the hostages’ remains are to be found and have deliberately delayed their transfer, an Israeli newspaper reported.
Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Gaza, confirmed that the UN had received the note from COGAT, the arm of the Israeli military that oversees aid flows into Gaza.
The Rafah crossing was due to open on Wednesday in line with the 20-point agreement agreed last week, which called for a surge of aid at levels last seen during the shortlived ceasefire in March.
The ceasefire plan also called for “all hostages, alive and deceased” to be returned within 72 hours of the agreement’s acceptance, but provided a mechanism if that did not happen, saying that Hamas should share information about any remaining deceased hostages and “exert maximum effort to ensure the fulfilment of these commitments as soon as possible.”
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