News Digest — 10/15/25
Hamas Handed Over Coffins Of Four More Hostages – Another Transfer Expected Wednesday
The second round of transfers of slain hostages began, an IDF spokesman announced Tuesday evening (14th), saying that four coffins of slain hostages were handed over to the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip and they were en route to link up with IDF forces. This time the terror group did not publish the names of the slain hostages it transferred.
On Wednesday morning (15th), the remains of three of the hostages were identified as Uriel Baruch, Tamir Nimrodi, and Eitan Levi at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute. It has been confirmed that the remains of the fourth body that was returned on Tuesday evening does not belong to the hostages, according to an Israeli official.
According to estimates, Hamas will hand over several more on Wednesday (15th) – most likely four – but the final number is still unclear. After that, the future is uncertain: at least half of the bodies are expected to remain in the Gaza Strip, and recovering them will depend in part on the Qatari-Turkey-Egyptian team established to operate on the ground.
Earlier, President Donald Trump said that although “all 20 live hostages returned and are feeling as well as can be expected, and a great burden was lifted, “the mission is not yet complete.” He added that the dead have not been returned as promised. “The second phase starts now,” he said. He later pledged that Hamas will be disarmed, whether it does so itself or not. “It will happen, and if not, we will do it for Hamas. They know I am not playing games,” the president said.
The “second phase” mentioned by the US President refers to the next stage of the peace plan, in which the parties are to focus on rebuilding the Gaza Strip while ensuring Israel’s security. This includes the first steps toward dismantling Hamas’ military capabilities. When asked at the White House – while hosting Argentina’s President Javier Milei – whether Hamas was “stalling” the continued implementation of the agreement, Trump replied, “We’ll see.”
For now, Israel has imposed sanctions on Hamas by closing the Rafah crossing for Gaza residents leaving the Strip, and by reducing the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering there. However, it has not yet gone further. Accordingly, Israel today returned 45 Palestinian militants’ bodies to Gaza under the clause stipulating that for each Israeli body repatriated, 15 bodies would be sent back.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visiting released hostages recovering at Beilinson Hospital, said, “We are dealing with the return of the fallen with the same determination, responsibility, and seriousness as with the return of the living. We will spare no effort or means to bring them back. I believe that, in this way, we will soon receive good news about the return of additional slain hostages – hopefully within hours. But we are determined to bring them all back.”
A senior official noted that while failure to return the bodies could endanger the deal, no decision has yet been made to declare a breach. “We want to exhaust the process and see where things stand,” the official said. “It’s clear that returning the bodies will take more time, and we hope it can be resolved.”
Israel’s message to Hamas was clear: it insists on the return of the slain “no less than the living.” If Hamas does not fulfill its commitments and make every effort to locate and return them, additional sanctions outlined in the agreement will be imposed – chiefly delaying Gaza’s construction.
All communication channels remain open with Qatar, Egypt, the United States and Turkey, which, along with the Red Cross, are part of the international task force helping to locate all the slain hostages. The team is to provide Hamas with coordinates for excavation sites believed to contain bodies – areas now under closure orders. Hamas has agreed not to begin reconstruction work there until thorough searches are completed, a process expected to take time.
According to the Qatari network Al Arabi, Egyptian teams are already operating inside Gaza to help identify and recover the bodies, with technical consultation from Israeli personnel to resolve the impasse.
Not Long Ago He Was Digging His Own Grave – Now Evyatar David Emerges From The Depths Of Hell, A Free Man
After nearly two years in Hamas captivity, Evyatar David – once presumed near death – is finally free.
The world first saw him deep underground in Hamas’ terror tunnels, gaunt and hollow-eyed, forced to dig his own grave. Alongside fellow hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal, he was cruelly made to witness other hostages being released while he remained behind. Both men were also coerced into appearing in a Hamas propaganda video designed to manipulate global sympathy and disguise the true scale of the group’s brutality.
At the time, intelligence sources warned that Evyatar was “days away from death.” The footage of his frail condition shocked the world – a haunting reminder of the terror that continued beneath Gaza’s soil.
The contrast could not be starker: sunlight instead of darkness, the sound of family instead of captors, the warmth of freedom instead of the chill of a tunnel wall. For two years, he lived without day or night, surviving on scraps and faith alone. Now, he breathes freely again.
Those close to him describe his first hours back as overwhelming – a mix of disbelief, relief, and quiet gratitude. The bed he sleeps in, the food he eats, even the air he breathes – all have taken on sacred meaning.
Who Will Disarm Hamas? – Danny Zaken
After the initial euphoria over the return of 20 living hostages and the outrage at Hamas for handing over only four deceased hostages, talks on the next steps to end the war in Gaza are advancing.
Before moving to the next stage of implementing President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan, ending the first stage is required, namely the return of all deceased hostages, 24 in total. Hamas already said last week that it would have difficulty locating all the deceased, some of which were buried at sites destroyed in strikes, and because several units and commanders who knew the locations were killed.
The summary of last week’s talks in Sharm el-Sheikh was that Hamas would deliver nearly 20 deceased hostages within the allotted time, meaning by Monday (13th), the remaining would be located by international teams aided by engineering equipment.
Hamas did not meet that agreement, and delivered only four deceased hostages. Its representatives told the mediators that there are logistical difficulties, but Israeli officials say this is an excuse and that, based on the information Israel holds, Hamas is keep[ing the bodies and can hand them over. The Israeli message is that until this phase is completed and all bodies are delivered, there will be no further progress. That said, if it becomes clear that a few truly cannot be found – and there is such a concern – searches may continue in parallel.
The remainder of the plan’s implementation can be divided into two stages: the practical completion of hostilities, and the post-conflict stage, the start of long-term rehabilitation in Gaza as well as the regional political programs, including expanded normalization and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These later issues are discussed but not detailed beyond what appears in Trump’s plan.
The coming stage will be the toughest of all. Trump’s plan mandates, in at least two of its points, the disarmament of the Strip. The first point states: Gaza will be a demilitarized, terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors. Point 13 says all military, terrorist and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons-manufacturing facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt. There will be a process of demilitarizing Gaza under the supervision of independent inspectors, which will include the removal of weapons through an agreed dismantling process.
This involves not only the handing over of weapons but also the demolition of terrorist tunnels and the cessation of any actions that have hostile military significance against Israel. At the same time, a civilian and security mechanism is supposed to be created to assume control of the Strip, but there’s the chicken-and-egg dilemma: most potential participants will not commit forces to areas under Hamas control while it remains armed and dangerous. So who will disarm Hamas? There is no clear answer to that question.
Implementation of these clauses is a condition for further steps, including continued Israeli withdrawal. But given statements by Hamas leaders and the organization’s actions on the ground, including fights with rival militias, the resumption of extortion or, more accurately, protection rackets imposed on Gaza merchants, and Hamas’ need to show some achievement, all of these will make implementation extremely difficult.
The expectation is that while dragging out talks and negotiations, Hamas will work to strengthen its control in the areas it still holds, less than half of the Strip, and within that will continue recruiting and training terrorists and attempting to rearm.
It is not far-fetched to expect Hamas to also initiate direct incidents against the IDF to test them. Israel, for its part, has declared its determination to insist on the return of all deceased hostages and on adherence to the deal, and will likely be tested on whether it will insist on those conditions. The mediators are supposed to intervene here and try to complete stage A, but given their hostility to Israel, only American involvement will likely allow progress.
Hamas Declares That We, The People Of Gaza, Have Not Been Defeated. I Say Otherwise. – Ezzideen Shehab
Today, my family and I learned that our homes and our entire neighborhood have been completely erased – flattened into a barren stretch of yellow dust. We have been living the full meaning of defeat. We now have no home to return to.
One of Hamas’ leaders appeared on television declaring that “the people have not been defeated,” that “Gaza has stood firm.” So let history record this: “I, Dr. Ezzideen Shehab from Gaza, together with my family, my friends, and their families, were the victims of an annihilation ignited by Hamas, while Hamas fighters vanished into their tunnels.”
Let history record the truth: we have been defeated – utterly, painfully, and completely defeated. And it is we, the people of Gaza, who have the right to say whether or not we were defeated, not those who sit comfortably in Qatar or Turkey. We were crushed, humiliated, and broken after our city was destroyed. We were displaced, stripped of everything we had built, left to wander through the ruins of our own lives.
We were not “steadfast.” We were held hostage in our own land. We could not leave. We could not change those who claimed to rule us.
Iran Accuses US Of Criminal Behavior, Says Trump’s Call For Dialogue Is Inconsistent
Iran said on Tuesday (14th) that US President Donald Trump’s call for a peace deal with Tehran was inconsistent with Washington’s actions, referring to its strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June.
“The desire for peace and dialogue expressed by the US president is at odds with the hostile and criminal behavior of the United States toward the Iranian people,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
During a Monday speech (13th) at the Israeli Knesset, Trump said he wanted a peace deal with Iran and that the ball was in Tehran’s court for any agreement to come to pass.
“How can one attack the residential areas and nuclear facilities of a country in the midst of political negotiations, kill more than 1,000 people including innocent women and children and then demand peace and friendship?” the foreign ministry said.
Trump also said “nothing would do more good” for the region than for Iran’s leaders “to renounce terrorists, stop threatening their neighbors, quit funding their military proxies, and finally recognize Israel’s right to exist.”
Tehran struck back, calling the remarks “irresponsible and shameful” and accusing the United States of being “a leading producer of terrorism and a supporter of the terrorist genocidal Zionist regime.”
“The United States… has no moral authority to accuse others,” Iran’s foreign ministry said.
In June the US joined Israel in striking Iranian nuclear facilities after five rounds of indirect nuclear talks with Tehran that stalled over issues including nuclear enrichment.
Trump told the Knesset Monday (13th) that Iran “took a big hit” in the 12-day war, but offered “friendship and cooperation” and said it would be nice if a peace deal could be hammered out between Iran and Israel.
Israel and its sweeping assault on Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites and ballistic missile program was necessary to prevent the Islamic republic from realizing its avowed plan to destroy Israel.
Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Israel said Iran had recently taken steps toward weaponization.
Iran retaliated to Israel’s strikes by launching over 500 ballistic missiles and around 1,100 drones at Israel.
The attacks killed 32 people in Israel – the most recent death was Monday (13th) when 76-year-old Aharon Mizrahi succumbed to his wounds sustained in a missile strike in Ramat Gan – and injured over 3,000.
