Hostage Families Accuse Hamas of 'Blatant Breach' of Gaza Peace Deal, Call for 'Immediate Suspension'
While Israel rejoiced over the safe return of 20 living hostages released by Hamas, deep outrage is spreading across the nation over the terrorist group’s failure to return the remains of all those killed in captivity — a move Israeli officials are calling a direct violation of the ceasefire deal brokered by President Donald J. Trump.
According to ABC News, Hamas returned only four of the 28 bodies it had been holding in Gaza, despite promising to release all of them as part of the first phase of the agreement.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz denounced the breach, calling it a “failure to meet commitments.”
“Any delay or deliberate avoidance will be considered a blatant violation of the agreement and will be responded to accordingly,” Katz said in a statement.
The Hostages Families Forum, a group representing relatives of those taken in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre, said Israel should suspend all cooperation with the ceasefire until every deceased hostage is returned.
“The Hostages Families Forum is calling for the immediate suspension of all agreement implementation until every deceased individual is returned,” the group wrote in a post on X.
The Hostages Families Forum is calling for the immediate suspension of all agreement implementation until every deceased individual is returned.
— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) October 13, 2025
Hamas’s violation of the agreement must be met with a very serious response from the government and the mediators.
An agreement must…
“An agreement must be honored by both sides. If Hamas does not fulfill their part, Israel should not fulfill its part either. We demand all 28 hostages back. We will not give up on anyone, until the last hostage is returned.”
They added that Israel’s government and the mediators “must take immediate action to rectify this grave injustice.”
Another advocacy organization, the Families’ Headquarters for the Return of the Abductees, echoed the same demand, insisting on an “immediate halt” to the ceasefire implementation until every hostage’s body is returned to Israel.
Although The Times of Israel reported earlier that “numerous sources had indicated that the majority of the dead hostages would be returned today or soon afterward,” Hamas ultimately returned the bodies of only four: Guy Illouz, Yossi Sharabi, Bipin Joshi, and IDF Capt. Daniel Perez.
BREAKING: Hamas has announced the names of the four deceased hostages whose bodies will be returned today.
— World Jewish Congress (@WorldJewishCong) October 13, 2025
They are Daniel Perez, Guy Illouz, Bipin Joshi, and Yossi Sharabi.
Our hearts are with the families of the deceased as they wait for the return of their loved ones for… pic.twitter.com/aPUAd1vau0
A report from The Telegraph said Israeli officials fear that as many as 15 bodies may never be recovered, as Hamas reportedly told negotiators it no longer has “full control” over all burial sites. Reuters confirmed that the terrorist group now claims it does not know the exact locations of all the graves.
The development marks the first serious test of the Trump-brokered ceasefire deal — one that secured the release of all remaining living hostages and brought relative calm to Gaza for the first time since Hamas’s October 7 atrocities. But with Hamas now failing to honor a key commitment, Israeli leaders are warning that the next phase of peace could collapse before it even begins.