Close Remains of two more Gaza captives identified: Israeli military
On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
US President Donald Trump has issued a warning to “kill Hamas”, just days after he celebrated a ceasefire and prisoner-hostage exchange.
“If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social on Thursday.
Hamas executed seven Palestinians this week for “collaborating” with Israel, which Trump condoned at the time comparing it to gang violence and Venezuelan “drug boats”.
Local health authorities said an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis killed two on Thursday. Israel said its forces fired at several individuals who emerged from a tunnel and approached troops, posing an “immediate threat”.
Families of Israeli hostages and captives demanded that a ceasefire be terminated if the 19 bodies remaining in Gaza are not returned.
Hamas said all reachable hostage bodies have been returned to Israel.
The militant group has accused Israel of killing at least 24 Palestinians since a ceasefire was announced and said it had handed a list of alleged “violations” over to mediators. Israel has yet to respond to Hamas’ claims.
shevy-java on October 16th, 2025 at 15:03 UTC »
Let's be brutally honest: we ALL know the war will resume.
Also, there is a logic problem here: the Israeli claim that all corpses are with Hamas. How do they know? What if some are buried under rubble?
That means that, if one corpse is under rubble, then the Israeli demand from Netanyahu to kill more people in order to ... what exactly? This would solve the problem ... how precisely? Because IF a corpse is under rubble, HOW do the Israeli think someone can retrieve that corpse? Shooting more missiles at people does not magically let a corpse float upwards when it is buried under the rubble. These Israeli need to THINK about this logically.
PrettyCreative on October 16th, 2025 at 13:10 UTC »
If the remaining hostages are not reachable without "significant efforts" as the article states, what do you do?
smokeyleo13 on October 16th, 2025 at 13:04 UTC »
With how destroyed the place is, its surprising they were able to return the bodies they already had. Considering some their own families may still be stuck under rubble.