Washington DC [US], October 26 : United States President Donald Trump on Sunday called on Hamas to 'quickly' return the bodies of the deceased hostages, who were taken during the October 7 attack, to ensure that 'everlasting' and 'strong peace' is maintained in the Gaza Strip.
Trump said that he will be observing the actions of Hamas for the next 48 hours, and see whether they return the bodies of the deceased hostages, which can be reached.
"We have a very strong PEACE in the Middle East, and I believe it has a good chance of being EVERLASTING. Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly, or the other Countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will take action," Trump posted on Truth Social.
Currently, 13 of the total 28 bodies of deceased hostages are still in Gaza. A total of 251 people were, including some Americans, from the Israeli border on October 7, 2023. The aftermath of the October 7 led to the proliferation of the Israel-Palestine war, leading to the deaths of thousands more people.
"Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now and, for some reason, they are not. Perhaps it has to do with their disarming, but when I said, "Both sides would be treated fairly," that only applies if they comply with their obligations. Let's see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely," he said.
Earlier, while at a gaggle with journalists aboard the Air Force One, while on his way to attend the ASEAN summit in Malaysia, President Trump expressed confidence in achieving lasting peace in the Middle East, while warning Hamas of serious consequences if the ceasefire agreement with Israel is violated.
"I think it (ceasefire) will hold. Well, if it doesn't hold, it's Hamas. Hamas will not be hard to deal with very quickly. I hope it holds for Hamas too because they gave us their world on something, so I think it's going to hold, and if it doesn't, then they'll have a very big problem," Trump said.
President Trump also highlighted the wide support for the peace plan, with multiple people agreeing to join the Stabilization Force to help maintain peace in the region.
When asked why he feels that this peace plan will hold up unlike others, Trump mentioned how "everyone agrees" to the plan this time, and credited the strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities as a pivotal moment which made the deal possible.
"A year ago, it would have been very tough. I think the big thing was when we took out the nuclear power in Iran, we took out that nuclear capability, which would have happened over the next month to two months. That made a whole big difference in the Middle East. It made it possible to do the deal," he said.
Earlier on October 2, Israeli soldiers in Gaza received two coffins delivered from Hamas by the Red Cross.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office mentioned that after a short ceremony, the remains were taken to the National Centre for Forensic Medicine for identification.