Hamas released the bodies of two more hostages Wednesday, claiming it has met its obligations in returning the dead captives “that it was able to reach” — despite there still being 19 missing people and the terror group reportedly having access to more than it has let on.
Israeli officials confirmed that two more caskets were en route to Israel after Hamas handed the bodies over to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The transfer comes just hours after it was revealed that one of the eight bodies Hamas released on Tuesday did not belong to any of the Israeli hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, sparking outrage that the terror group was not complying with President Trump’s cease-fire deal.
A vehicle transporting the bodies of Israeli hostages released by Hamas arriving at the National Center for Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv on Oct. 15, 2025. AFP via Getty Images
People waving Israeli flags as the bodies of deceased hostages arrive in Tel Aviv on Wednesday night. AFP via Getty ImagesAs per the president’s peace plan, Hamas was ordered to free all 20 of the living hostages on Monday, along with the bodies of the 28 captives presumed to be dead.
The terror group, however, claims that it has released all the captives whose locations it knows of — adding that finding the rest of the bodies would take more time.
“What remains of the bodies of hostages (that were not returned) — requires great effort and special equipment to search for, and we are making great efforts to resolve this issue,” Hamas insisted in a statement.
Trump said that Hamas is currently working to comply with his demands of returning the deceased after 740 days in captivity.
Red Cross teams move toward the “Kissufim” area to retrieve the bodies of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian factions, as part of internationally mediated humanitarian arrangements between the two sides. Gaza Strip, 14 October 2025. APAImages/Shutterstock
A Red Cross vehicle transports the bodies of hostages after they were handed over by Hamas militants as part of a ceasefire and a hostage-prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, October 15, 2025. REUTERS“It’s a gruesome process … They’re digging and they’re finding a lot of bodies,” the president told reporters at the White House Wednesday.
“Then they have to separate the bodies. Some of those bodies have been in there a long time, and some of them are under rubble,” he added.
“They have to remove rubble. Some are in tunnels … that are way down under the earth.”
However, new Israeli intelligence revealed Hamas allegedly can acquire more captive remains than it’s claiming.
“We don’t see Hamas making maximum effort regarding the bodies. We know they can do more & we don’t think anybody should give them any discounts,” an official told Axios.
While mediators had warned that it could take more than 10 days for Hamas to locate all the bodies, given the widespread destruction across Gaza, it was never made clear that as many as 19 captives were missing.
Egypt has recently tapped a team to head a joint international task force aimed at extracting the hostages’ bodies from Gaza.
Among those assisting in the search will be a Turkish team specializing in earthquake wreckage, a senior US official told The Post.
Hamas militants as part of a ceasefire and a hostage-prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, October 15, 2025. REUTERS
Red Cross vehicles carrying the bodies of deceased Palestinians held by Israel during the war arrive after their release, at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. AP“No one is getting left behind,” they vowed.
Another senior official said that the US is working closely with mediators to get as many bodies out of Gaza as soon as possible, noting that Hamas has been cooperating with the releases so far.
The second official said the US and mediators were providing Hamas with intelligence on where the bodies are likely located, with the terror group allegedly moving quickly to secure the corpses and prepare them for release.
Red Cross vehicles escort a truck transporting the bodies of Palestinians who had been held in Israel during the war, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 14, 2025. REUTERS
The bodies of deceased Palestinians held by Israel during the war are unloaded from Red Cross vehicles after their release, at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. APIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticized Hamas’ handling of the hostage exchange after the terror group released the body of an unknown person on Tuesday.
The mix-up echoed the trauma caused earlier this year when Hamas released — with great fanfare — the body of slain mother Shiri Bibas, who turned out to be a Palestinian woman.
It remains unclear whose body was released among the latest hostages, with Hamas claiming it belonged to an Israeli soldier kidnapped and killed last year — a claim Israel has repeatedly denied.
“We will not compromise on this and will not stop our efforts until we return the last deceased hostage, until the last one,” Netanyahu said.







