**Summary of CBS News Article: Hamas Hands Over More Hostage Remains Amid Ongoing Gaza Peace Deal Challenges**
**Background and Latest Developments**
The ongoing efforts to implement a peace deal between Israel and Hamas have hit significant hurdles, particularly surrounding the return of Israeli hostages — both living and deceased — held in Gaza. Since the latest peace agreement took effect, the situation has remained tense and complicated, with both sides voicing frustrations and accusations of non-compliance.
As of October 18, 2025, Hamas has handed over the remains of at least ten confirmed hostages to Israeli authorities. On that day, two additional sets of remains were delivered and are currently undergoing identification by Israeli forensic teams. With these latest transfers, the total number of deceased hostages returned stands at ten, but at least sixteen more hostages' remains are still unaccounted for.
Hamas claims that it has already handed over all the recovered remains of Israeli hostages found in Gaza. According to Hamas, locating the remaining bodies is a massive challenge that requires extensive search efforts and specialized equipment, given the destruction across the territory. The militant group insists that it is doing everything possible to find and recover more bodies, but progress has been slow and fraught with logistical difficulties.
**Role of the Red Cross and Israeli Response**
The Red Cross has played a crucial role as an intermediary in facilitating the transfer of bodies from Hamas to Israel. On Wednesday, the organization received two more coffins containing the remains of deceased hostages, which were then handed over to Israeli authorities. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli Security Agency confirmed in a joint statement that these coffins had arrived in Israel and were sent to the National Centre for Forensic Medicine for identification.
Despite these handovers, the Israeli government remains firm in its demands. The IDF has publicly stated that Hamas is required to fully uphold the terms of the peace agreement, which explicitly obligates the group to take all necessary steps to return every hostage, living or deceased.
**The Peace Plan’s Hostage Clause**
The return of hostages is a central pillar of the current Gaza peace plan, which was designed to end months of fighting and devastation. The agreement stipulates that Hamas must return all remaining hostages — specifically, 20 living and 28 deceased — by Monday, October 13.
While Hamas met the deadline for releasing the 20 living hostages, significant delays have occurred in the handover of deceased hostages. By the Monday deadline, only four bodies had been returned. The following day, Hamas transferred four more sets of remains, but the IDF clarified that one of these did not belong to a hostage, leaving the status of at least 19 hostages' bodies unresolved at that point.
**Challenges in Retrieving Remains**
The search for additional remains is proving to be extremely difficult. U.S. advisers involved in the process have emphasized the scale of destruction in Gaza as a primary obstacle. Much of the territory has been reduced to rubble following months of conflict, making the search for bodies exceedingly dangerous and complex.
A senior U.S. adviser noted that “nobody is getting left behind,” underlining the commitment to locate and recover all hostages. However, they acknowledged that many bodies are likely still buried beneath collapsed buildings and debris, and that the current conditions make it almost impossible for Hamas to mobilize recovery teams effectively, even if the locations were known.
In a notable development, the U.S. has reportedly shared Israeli intelligence with Hamas to assist in identifying and locating hostage remains. Turkey has also offered to contribute expert search and rescue teams, drawing on their experience with earthquake response, to help recover bodies from the rubble.
**Political and Diplomatic Pressures**
The slow pace and incomplete returns have triggered strong reactions from Israeli officials and hostage families. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has called Hamas’s initial return of only four bodies “a violation of the agreement,” warning that any further delays or attempts to avoid compliance would be considered a grave breach and would prompt a forceful response.
Throughout the negotiations, Hamas representatives maintained that they did not know the locations of all the deceased hostages’ remains, a point echoed in Israeli media reports. Former President Trump, while in Egypt, confirmed that not all bodies had been found and that efforts were ongoing to locate those still missing.
The Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the families of those held captive, has been vocal in its demands. Both the