US President Donald Trump announced the start of the second phase of the Gaza deal, amid serious concerns about the ceasefire, as on the one hand Israel halve the agreed humanitarian aid to the Palestinians and on the other hand Hamas is strengthening its presence in the enclave and has delayed the handover of the bodies of all the hostages.

A short time later, the American president announced that Hamas must disarm. If they do not disarm, we will disarm them. And it will be done quickly and perhaps violently, he said characteristically.

Earlier in his post he said that all 20 hostages have returned and are feeling as well as they could be. A great burden has been lifted, but the work is not over. The dead have not been returned, as agreed! The second phase begins now!.

The announcement comes as Israel announced it would allow only 300 trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza each day, half of what was agreed upon under the ceasefire. Israeli authorities said the move was due to Hamas's delay in handing over the bodies of the hostages.

Both Hamas and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have explained that it will take time to return the bodies of the hostages, highlighting the difficulties within the enclave in locating them under the rubble.

Yesterday, Hamas released 20 live hostages and handed over the bodies of four dead ones, while 24 bodies still remain in Gaza. Today, the organization informed mediators that it will hand over four more bodies of dead Israeli hostages to Israel.

Red Cross: It will take time

The International Committee of the Red Cross announced today that it will take time to hand over the bodies of hostages and prisoners killed in the war, calling it a huge challenge given the difficulties of finding them among the ruins of Gaza.

This is an even bigger challenge than releasing the hostages alive. It is a huge challenge, said ICRC spokesman Christian Cardon, adding that it could take days or weeks and that there was also a possibility that they would never be found.

We urge the dignified management of the deceased as we continue our operations to facilitate the transfer of human remains as part of the ceasefire agreement.

Families grieving the loss of their loved ones have already endured unimaginable pain.https://t.co/2xNohAYBCK

— ICRC in Israel & OT (@ICRC_ilot) October 14, 2025

What does the agreement provide?

Specifically, the agreement stipulated that Hamas should have released within 72 hours, after the ceasefire – that is, by noon on Monday –,  the 20 living hostages, as it did, as well as the bodies of all the dead hostages it is holding or is able to locate.

He also left open the possibility that, if Hamas has information about the dead hostages whose bodies it cannot recover within that time limit, the details could be passed on to mediators for follow-up at a later stage.

According to a CNN report published last week, three Israeli officials had confirmed that  Hamas may not be able to identify all 28 dead hostages.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has known for months that this possibility existed, according to the same officials.