October 17, 2025 | 02:42 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United States is denying Israeli claims that Hamas violated the ceasefire by failing to return all deceased hostages, the BBC reported, citing Arab News.
Hamas has returned nine of the 28 deceased hostages' bodies required under the truce agreement. The group has stated that the remaining bodies are buried in the rubble across Gaza, requiring specialized equipment for their recovery and evacuation.
One U.S. advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump told the media that, given the extent of the damage in the Palestinian enclave, the recovery process could take weeks.
According to two senior advisors, the plan to demilitarize Gaza and establish a transitional government continues to progress despite the delay in the exchange. They told reporters that the U.S. government is not convinced that Hamas violated the ceasefire terms.
Consequently, in response to the delayed handover, Israel has restricted the promised humanitarian aid supplies into Gaza.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated on Wednesday that the country's military must be prepared to act if Hamas refuses to implement the agreement. Israel has agreed to exchange the bodies of 15 Palestinian citizens killed for every Israeli hostage body returned.
Netanyahu Demands Hamas Disarmament
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expects the next phase of the peace agreement, but noted that President Trump’s conditions for lasting peace are "very clear": Hamas must disarm and demilitarize, or "all hell breaks loose."
During an exclusive interview with CBS on Tuesday, October 14, Netanyahu said, "We agreed to give peace a chance," after a brief visit by President Trump to Tel Aviv to mark the first phase of his 20-point peace plan for Gaza. The President had previously declared that "the war is over."
Netanyahu stated that once the living hostages are returned, disarmament and weapon confiscation will be the next priority. Prior to this, Hamas had rejected any surrender of its weapons. Netanyahu urged the audience to review the Abraham Accords, referencing Israel's normalization of relations with four Arab nations as a model for regional peace.
"We have an opportunity to broaden that peace; this would be the greatest gift we can bring the people of Israel, the people of the region and the people of the world," he said.
Disadvantageous Terms and International Law
The Trump-mediated agreement between Hamas and Israel details the exchange of all 20 living Israeli hostages for 2,000 Israeli and Palestinian detainees held by Israel. The plan also includes the gradual withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza and the opening of aid shipments to the besieged area, which has been experiencing a food crisis.
Further stages of the resolution include initiating post-war governance in Gaza, defining the status of Palestinian statehood, and the requirement for Hamas disarmament.
Trump’s statements suggest his approach is predicated on the threat of full military force or the destruction of Gaza if Hamas does not comply.
In contrast, Al Jazeera reported that under international law, armed groups have the right to possess weapons and fight against occupying forces, a framework often referenced in wartime to protect civilian populations, and one which underpinned the Oslo Peace Accords in the 1990s.
Azmi Keshawi, a Palestinian from Gaza and a researcher at the International Crisis Group (ICG), told Al Jazeera that Hamas's compliance would likely be limited.
"[Hamas] will only give up [light] weapons when there is no need for these weapons. This means they will only hand them over to a Palestinian leadership that assumes control of a state after Israel ends its occupation," Keshawi said in early October.
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