If the Palestinian Hamas movement does not start returning the bodies of the dead hostages, including two US citizens, within the next 48 hours, measures will be taken against it, US President Donald Trump said on Truth Social.
"Hamas will have to quickly start returning the bodies of the dead hostages, including two Americans, otherwise other countries involved in this great world will take action," he wrote.
According to him, a lasting peace has now been established in the Middle East, which, according to the Republican, can become "eternal." Trump stressed that the actions of Hamas in the next two days will determine how events will develop further.
The President explained that his statement about the fair treatment of both parties refers only to the case if they fulfill their obligations. He noted that some bodies can be returned now, but representatives of the movement do not do this "for some reason."
"Let's see what they will do in the next 48 hours. I am following this very closely," he concluded.
The agreement on the release of the hostages was reached within the framework of the 20-point settlement plan proposed by Trump.
On the morning of October 13, Hamas handed over to Israel all 20 living hostages remaining in captivity as part of a peace agreement. At that time in The bodies of 28 dead prisoners remained in Gaza. The next day, the group handed over to Israel four bodies of the dead hostages. Subsequently, Tel Aviv received three more dead hostages — on October 18th and 19th.
Hamas has previously stated that the movement needs special equipment to search for the remaining bodies.
"The return of what remains of the bodies of the hostages (which have not been returned) requires a lot of effort and special search equipment, and we are making great efforts to solve this problem," the group said.