'Job not done, phase two begins now': Trump urges return of dead hostages from Hamas after Gaza deal

Trump stressed that although hostages were freed, more must be done.

After visiting Israel and Egypt, Donald Trump said on Truth Social that the current agreement with Hamas remains incomplete until the bodies of slain hostages are returned. While noting that all twenty hostages are back to Israel, he said the bodies of dead hostages have not been returned yet.

He wrote: "ALL TWENTY HOSTAGES ARE BACK AND FEELING AS GOOD AS CAN BE EXPECTED. A big burden has been lifted, but the job IS NOT DONE. THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED! Phase Two begins right NOW!!! President DJT"

Trump stressed that although hostages were freed, more must be done. He repeated: "A big burden has been lifted, but the job IS NOT DONE. THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED!" and said the next stage of the deal is now underway, declaring, "Phase Two begins right NOW!!!"

Hamas has informed mediators it will begin transferring bodies of four deceased Israeli hostages to Israel at 10 pm local time on Tuesday, an official involved in the operation told Reuters.

Earlier, Israeli officials said the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt would stay closed at least through Wednesday and the flow of aid into the Palestinian enclave would be reduced to put pressure on the militant group to hand over the bodies of the hostages it is holding.

According to AP sources, Israel is planing to halve aid into Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating ceasefire with slow release of dead hostages.

It is reported that families of 24 Israeli and foreign hostages declared dead are still waiting for the return of their loved ones’ remains from Gaza.

So far, Hamas has handed over only four bodies and officials and aid groups warn that recovering the rest could take weeks or may not be possible at all.

Reports say that Israel will keep the Rafah border crossing closed on Wednesday after Hamas returned just four of 28 hostages' bodies on Monday.

Only four hostages- Yossi Sharabi, Guy Illouz, Daniel Peretz and Bipin Joshi- have been returned to Israel. Guy Illouz, an Israeli taken from the Nova music festival, reportedly died from his injuries while in captivity, while Bipin Joshi, a Nepali student, was murdered in Gaza during the early months of the war.

The fate of 24 other hostages declared dead remains unclear. Hamas has said recovering their bodies will take time as many burial sites are unmarked or inaccessible amid the destruction across Gaza.

With inputs from AP and Reuters