Hamas returns remains of four more hostages, as Israel returns 45 deceased Palestinians, Red Cross says

Hamas returned the remains of four more hostages to Israeli authorities and Israel returned the remains of 45 Palestinians to Gaza on Tuesday, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, as President Donald Trump warned the militant group that it must disarm.

“These operations were carried out in line with the ceasefire agreement, and it is crucial that the parties and mediators ensure the agreement is faithfully upheld,” the ICRC said in a statement. “The ICRC remains committed to fulfilling its role as a neutral intermediary so that families can have closure.”

The release of the hostage remains comes after Hamas faced widespread criticism and accusations of violating Trump’s peace deal for returning the remains of only four deceased hostages on Monday. The terms of the peace agreement stipulated that Hamas should release the remains of all 28 deceased hostages.

“I want them back. That’s what they said. I want them back,” Trump said at a press gathering Monday. “Also, they said they were going to disarm.”

“If they don’t disarm, we will disarm them,” Trump told reporters who asked how he would do that. “I don’t have to explain that to you, but if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them. They know I’m not playing games.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office identified the four deceased hostages received on Monday as Guy Ilouz, Daniel Peretz, Yossi Sharabi and Bipin Joshi. Along with the four remains released on Tuesday, there are 20 deceased hostages still in the custody of Hamas.

Families across Israel, the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank rejoiced as 20 hostages and some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees were freed on Monday.