Hamas returns two more bodies but says it cannot return the remaining dead hostages

Hamas says it has handed over the bodies of two more Israeli hostages under the terms of a US-brokered ceasefire deal, but says it needs time and specialist equipment to extricate the rest of the dead from Gaza’s rubble.

The group’s armed wing said in a statement that it was committed to the deal but had returned all the bodies of hostages it was able to reach.

US President Donald Trump has said that Israeli forces may resume fighting in Gaza if Hamas does not abide by the agreement.

In a statement, the Israeli prime minister’s office said Israel had received – through the Red Cross – coffins containing the bodies of the hostages, which are now awaiting official identification.

“IS calls on the public to act sensitively and wait for the official identification, which will first be communicated to the families of the dead hostages,” the statement said.

If the two bodies returned on Wednesday night are confirmed to be hostages, it will mean 19 are still missing in Gaza. Hamas is required to return all 28 dead hostages as part of the first phase of the Gaza peace plan.

But Hamas’ armed wing said in a statement that “the remaining bodies require considerable effort and specialized equipment to search and retrieve, and we are making great efforts to close this file.”

Israel previously said it “will not compromise” on the return of hostages, saying the “mission is not complete”.

Israel’s defense minister said he had instructed IS to prepare a “comprehensive plan” to defeat Hamas in Gaza in the event of a renewed war.

After a meeting with senior generals on Wednesday, Israel Katz said the military must be ready to act if Hamas refuses to implement the peace plan.

The latest repatriation came after Israel said one of the four bodies returned by Hamas on Tuesday was not one of the missing hostages.

The other three dead have been identified as Tamir Nimrodi, 20, Eitan Levy, 53, and Uriel Baruch, 35, the Hostage Families Forum said.

Earlier on Wednesday, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called on Israel to immediately open all crossings to Gaza for humanitarian assistance as required in the cease-fire plan.

In an X post, Fletcher said Hamas should “make a concerted effort to return all the bodies of the deceased hostages.”

He added: “As Israel has agreed, they must allow the massive influx of humanitarian aid – thousands of trucks a week – on which so many lives depend and which the world has been clamoring for.”

He called for “opening more crossing points and for a real, practical problem-solving approach to remove the remaining obstacles” and said “denying aid to civilians is not a bargaining chip”.

Trump’s cease-fire planwhich both Israel and Hamas accepted, called for the handover of all 48 hostages to be completed by noon on Monday. Hamas returned all 20 hostages alive on Monday.

But the US-brokered cease-fire deal appeared to acknowledge that Hamas and other Palestinian factions may not have been able to find all the remains of the hostages before Monday’s original deadline.

Under the deal, Israel also agreed to hand over the bodies of 15 Palestinians in exchange for each dead Israeli hostage.

Israel returned the bodies of 45 more Palestinians, the Hamas-run health ministry confirmed on Wednesday, bringing the total number of bodies released by Israel to 90.

Meanwhile, in Gaza, residents reported growing concern over the durability of the truce – and food prices soared as Palestinians stockpiled food.

Traders and suppliers in the enclave have been hoarding food to create shortages and boost profits, fearing the war could resume, locals told the BBC.

“Every time we start to feel safe, new threats appear and we fear that the war will start all over again,” said mother of six Neven Al-Mughrabi, a displaced Gaza resident who lives in Khan Younis.

“I lost my house in Gaza City, I decided to stay here with my family because I don’t believe in the ceasefire and we are tired of displacement.”

She added that a trader at Khan Younis’ main market said demand for flour, oil and sugar had increased within hours. “Despite the sudden rise in prices of around 30%, people are buying as if they don’t believe that the calm will last long, everyone is afraid that the aid will stop,” says Neven.