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

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

ByKevin Shalvey, Jon Haworth, Emily Shapiro, Nadine El-Bawab, and David Brennan
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.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Oct 13, 2025, 6:54 AM EDT

Netanyahu says Trump 'succeeded in doing something miraculous'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised and thanked President Donald Trump in his address to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, on Monday.

President Donald Trump listens to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he addresses the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem, October 13, 2025.
Saul Loeb/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

"At the beginning of the war, I promised to bring all the hostages home. Today, with the indispensable help, the determined and focus help, the unremitting help of President Trump ... and with the incredible sacrifice and courage of the soldiers of Israel, we are fulfilling that promise," Netanyahu said, with Trump looking on.

"Two weeks ago, you succeeded in doing something miraculous, you succeeded in doing something that no one believed was possible: you brought most of the Arab world -- you brought most of the world -- behind your proposal to free the hostages and end the war," he said to Trump.

"I've seen a lot of American presidents ... I’ve never seen anyone move the world so quickly, so decisively, so resolutely as our friend President Donald J. Trump," he said.

Oct 13, 2025, 6:35 AM EDT

Netanyahu: 'I am committed to this peace'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “no American president has ever done more for Israel” than President Donald Trump when he addressed the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, on Monday, with Trump looking on.

“You are committed to this peace, I am committed to this peace … we will achieve this peace,” Netanyahu said to Trump.

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

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