JERUSALEM, Israel – Two weeks after Hamas was supposed to have returned all 48 hostages, living and deceased, Egypt has stepped in to help with excavations to retrieve 13 missing bodies, two of whom are Americans, as the remaining live hostages leave the hospital for home.
Israel is allowing an Egyptian team and heavy equipment into the Gaza Strip to help search for the bodies of the remaining hostages.
Israeli Government Spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian clarified, "This is a technical team only, and none of these personnel are in the military. The Red Cross and the Egyptian team are allowed entry beyond the IDF’s yellow line position into Gaza territory to conduct the search for our hostages."
According to reports, Hamas is also involved in the search for the bodies. The terror group claimed they couldn't find all of the bodies.
President Trump warned Hamas on Saturday that he was "watching very closely" to ensure that it returns more bodies in the next 48 hours.
He posted on Truth Social, "Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now, and for some reason, they are not."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with families of two American hostages, Omer Neutra and Itay Chen, whose bodies are still held in Gaza. He said the U.S. won't "forget the lives of the hostages who died in the captivity of Hamas. We will not rest until their – and all – remains are returned."
Rubio wrapped up his visit with a phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then headed to Qatar.
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Earlier, Rubio said that UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency) would not have a place in ruling Gaza.
Netanyahu made it clear in a cabinet meeting on Sunday that Israel's security is in its own hands and it will determine who is present in Gaza.
“We have also made it clear regarding international forces that Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us, and this is how we operate and will continue to operate," he declared. "This is, of course, acceptable to the United States as well, as its most senior representatives have expressed in recent days. Israel is an independent state. We will defend ourselves with our own forces, and we will continue to control our destiny."
The last five hostages that were freed two weeks ago were released from the hospital on Sunday and received a hero's welcome in each of their communities.
During a refueling stop in Qatar on Trump's way to Malaysia, the emir and prime minister of Qatar boarded the plane and met with the president.
He later spoke positively about the ceasefire and said that if it breaks down, Hamas would be to blame.
"Hamas will not be hard to take care of. It'll be very quick. But I, I hope it holds for Hamas too, because you know they, they gave us their word on something," Trump stated, "And they said they took out gang members, but I hope that's right. But they gave us their word on something, so I, I think it's going to, and if it doesn't, then they'll have a, a very, very big problem."
Meanwhile, Samaritan's Purse sent a Boeing 767 airlift of food, blankets, and solar lights to the women and children of Gaza. Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse, contends that not only did Hamas hold 250 Israelis hostage, but also the people of Gaza.
"There’s over 200,000 packets of food that have been fortified, enriched with protein, and so forth. It’s a supplemental food, but it helps save lives. You’ve got people, many people, that are on the verge of starvation. This plane is going to be a lifesaver for a lot of people," Graham said.
He added that the plane is a tool God can use to save lives.
Yesterday, Samaritan’s Purse deployed our 767 cargo plane carrying more than 100,000 pounds of life-saving relief supplies bound for Gaza.
Onboard were over 290,000 sachets of Ready-to-Use Supplemental Food (RUSF), along with solar lights, blankets, and other critical items… pic.twitter.com/smObKDqnIG
— Samaritan's Purse (@SamaritansPurse) October 26, 2025
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