Donald Trump has told Hamas it must disarm under his Gaza plan. Meanwhile, Israel says the Rafah crossing into Gaza will stay shut over the group’s failure to return the remains of all 28 dead hostages. Listen to the Trump 100 podcast as you scroll.
Tuesday 14 October 2025 19:40, UK
The Israeli military says the Red Cross is on its way to a meeting point in northern Gaza to receive “several coffins of fallen hostages”.
Earlier, Hamas told mediators that it will begin the transfer of four more deceased hostages this evening, an official involved in the operation told Reuters.
So far, the bodies of four hostages have been handed over to Israel, leaving 24 bodies still inside Gaza.
Hamas has indicated that it will take time to find some bodies under the rubble in Gaza. A spokesperson for the Red Cross has also warned locating the bodies will be a “massive challenge”.
Over in the US, Donald Trump has been speaking at the White House about the latest developments in the Middle East.
“If they don’t disarm, we will disarm them. And it will happen quickly and perhaps violently,” he said during a meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei.
Trump says he received word from Hamas after speaking to the group that it would disarm. He said talks were “through my people” at the highest level.
He also says that Hamas “took out two very evil gangs” in Gaza and “killed a number of them”, which he says “didn’t bother me much”.
Dani Miran, father of hostage survivor Omri Miran, says the Israeli military must stay inside Gaza until the bodies of all remaining hostages are returned to Israel.
He says it’s the country’s “moral duty” to continue supporting all the hostages.
“It’s incumbent upon the State of Israel, the government, to ensure that they be brought home. You cannot continue to the next tranche of that agreement until this has been fulfilled.”
He adds: “If you have to wait until they all come home, you cannot withdraw. The IDF cannot withdraw until every part of that agreement has been upheld.
“If it is not upheld, it would be a violation of the agreement, and Israel has the right to renew its battle.”
Iair Horn, a hostage survivor released in February, is speaking about his brother, Eitan, who was released yesterday.
He says: “First and foremost, I would like to say thank you. Thank you that my little brother has come home in one piece alive.
“Thank you to the people of Israel, to all the citizens, the families, to the children, all those who stood at the crossroads and shouted out and held out those signs. And those who wrote us letters endlessly. I felt you, even in the darkness at home.”
Viki Cohen, the mother of hostage survivor Nimrod Cohen, is next to speak.
“I can breathe a sigh of relief,” she says. “There’s air in my lungs once again. I never slept for a moment. The anxiety never stopped.”
She adds that having Nimrod back by her side was “one of the most moving moments of my life”.
“That expectation, the anticipation, the uncertainty, everything was sort of channelled into one moment with an amazing excitement that one cannot even describe in words. And when we were reunited, we couldn’t say anything. We just embraced each other, and we let those tears come down freely and openly.”
Viki Cohen on being reunited with her son, Nimrod
The first speaker on stage is Lishay Miran-Lavi, the wife of hostage survivor Omri Miran.
She starts by thanking those across Israel who have protested on the streets, volunteered and supported the hostage families over the last two years.
“When you’re looking at the films and the photographs today, remember that this moment is yours, too.”
Miran-Lavi says she’s “delighted” that a hostage release could be secured “with no army, because otherwise that could have been a very bitter end”.
She also thanks Donald Trump, “who opened the doors of the White House at any moment, even when no one was speaking to us”.
She says the path for Israel now is to “rebuild the nation”, but she says this cannot truly start “until the very last hostage” comes home and a “national inquiry” can take place.
The families of hostages are delivering their first statements to the media after the captives were returned at two hospitals in Israel this evening.
The first event is taking place at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. Speakers include Viki Cohen, mother of released hostage Nimrod Cohen, and Anat Angrest, mother of released hostage Matan Angrest.
The second event is taking place at the Sheba Medical Centre, near Tel Aviv. Speakers include Rebecca Bohbot, whose husband Elkana was released on Monday, and Liran Berman, brother of released twin brothers Ziv and Gali.
Follow both events live at the top of this page.
Watch: Hostages reunite with families after two years
Donald Trump says a “big burden has been lifted” in the Middle East but the “job is not done”.
In a post on Truth Social platform, the US president says: “The dead have not been returned, as promised.”
“Phase two begins right now!”
Trump is speaking less than 12 hours after returning from the Middle East. He first took centre stage in Israel by addressing the Knesset and was the focus of attention again in Egypt as world leaders gathered for the signing of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
The “first phase” of Trump’s peace plan sought to address the key demands of both sides – namely a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of the hostages to Israel.
The second would focus on rebuilding the enclave in a way that guarantees lasting peace and security. It also includes the first steps towards the disarmament of Hamas.
Trump acknowledged the phases of the deal are “all a little bit mixed in with each other”, adding later that elements can still be taken “out of order in a positive way”.
We are in Jerusalem and Sharm el-Sheikh as hostages are returned to Israeli families. Every living hostage now accounted for and back on Israeli soil. A moment of national catharsis for every Israeli, orchestrated by Donald Trump. He is greeted with adulation and awards as he arrives in Israel.
And then, he flies to Egypt – to sign a commitment to peace in the Middle East alongside Qatar, Turkey and Egypt.
The world’s leaders come to Sharm el Sheikh to literally stand and watch as Trump holds court.
What does this all mean? Will this last? And has Trump just had one of the most successful weeks of his political career?
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Earlier today, Israeli officials said the Rafah crossing would remain closed tomorrow and humanitarian aid flow into Gaza would be reduced.
It is a direct response to Hamas failing to release the remaining dead Israeli hostages held inside the enclave.
The crossing is on the border between Egypt and southern Gaza. It is the territory’s only gateway to the rest of the world that’s not directly controlled by Israel.
It’s under the control of Egypt as part of an agreement with the Israelis and the European Union.
Israel launched a major assault on the city of Rafah in May 2024 as part of its military operations in Gaza and seized control of the crossing – which Egypt closed in response, rejecting an Israeli proposal to reopen it. Israel was also ordered to stop its offensive by the International Court of Justice due to the deteriorating humanitarian situation there.
Even before the Hamas attacks on October 7 2023, it never operated as a normal, fully open border crossing.
Over the years it has been closed for days, weeks and months at a time. When it does open, it’s often intermittent and can suddenly close again.
The people of Gaza never know when it will open or for how long, making it impossible for them to plan around using it.
Satellite images taken of Rafah last week show the city has been almost totally razed by military assaults over the past two years.
More than 150 of the Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel under the ceasefire agreement with Hamas returned to Gaza via the Rafah crossing.
The EU’s foreign affairs representative Kaja Kallas said yesterday that the bloc would “restart a civilian mission” to monitor the crossing.
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