Trump hints at 'action' if Hamas doesn't return hostage bodies

The bodies of 13 deceased hostages are believed to still be in Gaza.

Last Updated: October 24, 2025, 10:52 AM EDT

U.S. officials -- including Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner -- traveled to Israel this week for high-level meetings, discussing the next steps in the delicate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Israel has accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire deal by withholding the bodies of the remaining 13 deceased hostages thought to have died during or after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas has said the return of the remaining bodies "may take some time" due to the destruction.

Oct 13, 2025, 6:24 AM EDT

Netanyahu not attending Egypt summit

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend Monday’s international peace summit in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, according to the Prime Minister's Office.

Netanyahu thanked President Donald Trump for inviting him, "but said that he would not be able to participate due to the proximity of the holiday," the Prime Minister's Office said.

Monday night to Wednesday night marks the holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.

"The Prime Minister thanked President Trump for his efforts to expand the circle of peace - peace through strength," the Prime Minister's Office added.

PHOTO: Tourists take pictures in front of a billboard bearing the portraits of President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on Oct. 13, 2025.
Tourists take pictures in front of a billboard bearing the portraits of U.S. President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi outside the convention centre ahead of the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on Oct. 13, 2025.
Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images

The Egyptian presidency said earlier that Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would both attend the summit.

Egypt is hosting the summit, co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and President Donald Trump, the spokesman of Egyptian presidency said.

The gathering will be attended by leaders from more than 20 countries, the statement said. The summit aims “to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security and stability."

Oct 13, 2025, 6:04 AM EDT

Trump greeted with standing ovation before addressing Knesset

President Donald Trump was greeted with a standing ovation from Israel’s parliament as he entered the room for his address.

President Donald Trump reacts as he receives a standing ovation before speaking at the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem on Oct. 13, 2025.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Oct 13, 2025, 5:59 AM EDT

Trump meets with hostage families before addressing Knesset

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the families of hostages before Trump’s address to the Knesset.

Oct 13, 2025, 5:57 AM EDT

Massive crowds greet released Palestinians in West Bank

Released Palestinian prisoners were greeted by massive, jubilant crowds -- with people held back by law enforcement -- as they exited Red Cross busses in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank.

A freed Palestinian prisoner is greeted after being released from an Israeli jail as part of a hostages-prisoners swap and a ceasefire deal in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, in Ramallah , in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, October 13, 2025.
Ammar Awad/Reuters

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