Hamas hands over more bodies as outlook for Trump's Gaza peace plan darkens

Hamas handed over more bodies of deceased hostages to Israel on Tuesday, one sign of progress after a number of apparent setbacks in the day since U.S. President Donald Trump touted his plan to end the Gaza war.

The bodies were returned after Israel announced it would cut in half the number of humanitarian aid trucks allowed into Gaza in a move to punish Hamas for what Israel called the militant group's violation of its agreement to transfer remains under the ceasefire deal reached last week.

Meanwhile, re-emergent Hamas fighters demonstrated they were reasserting control in Gaza by deploying hundreds of security forces in the streets and executing several people they accused of collaborating with Israel.

The outlook for Trump's peace plan darkened further when the U.S. president threatened Hamas with military strikes unless the militant group disarmed.

"If they don't disarm, we will disarm them. And it will happen quickly and perhaps violently," Trump said at the White House, one day after he spoke before the Knesset in Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained the war cannot end until Hamas surrenders its weapons and cedes control of Gaza, a demand the fighters have rejected.

On Monday, Trump proclaimed the "historic dawn of a new Middle East" to Israel's parliament, as Israel and Hamas were exchanging the last 20 living Israeli hostages in Gaza for nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners.

But the return of 28 dead hostages has remained one of the final details to be worked out in the deal to end more than two years of hostilities that began with Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Hamas has now handed over eight coffins of dead hostages, leaving at least 19 presumed dead and one unaccounted for still in the Gaza Strip.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military said it received four coffins from the Red Cross at a meeting point in northern Gaza. Those coffins, escorted by Israeli forces, crossed the border into Israel shortly before midnight (2100 GMT) and were being taken for forensic identification, the Israeli military said.

Hamas also confirmed the transfer was underway.

"At this moment, the men are continuing to oversee the implementation of what was agreed upon regarding the handover of bodies as part of the agreement to end the war in Gaza," Hamas spokesperson in Gaza Hazem Qassem said on Facebook.

It was not immediately clear if the handing over of bodies was sufficient for Israel to restore a full complement of aid deliveries.

Israeli officials said they had decided to restrict aid, allowing only half the agreed number of aid trucks into Gaza starting Wednesday, and to delay plans to open the southern border crossing to Egypt because Hamas had violated the ceasefire deal by failing to turn over bodies of hostages.

Israel's two-year assault has left much of the enclave in ruins and Gaza City and surrounding areas are suffering from a famine that has afflicted more than half a million Palestinians, creating great need for an expected 600 aid trucks to enter Gaza daily during the ceasefire.

Plans have yet to be implemented to open the crossing to Egypt to let some Gazans out, initially to evacuate the wounded for medical treatment.

Dark outlook

As renewed tensions and fragile progress unfold in Gaza, analysts highlight mounting challenges to Trump's peace plan, raising doubts about its prospects.

Li Zixin, assistant research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, said the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the disarmament of Hamas are the two key issues that continue to hinder progress in the ceasefire negotiations and deepen mutual distrust between the two sides.

"Israel is reluctant to fully pull out from Gaza, fearing that a security vacuum would allow Hamas to rebuild its military strength. It insists on maintaining full security control over Gaza, while Hamas demands a complete Israeli withdrawal as a precondition for talks," he told China Media Group. "This has resulted in mutual distrust and delays in the negotiation process."

In the absence of credible multilateral guarantees and with Israel explicitly refusing to withdraw from Gaza, the likelihood of Hamas voluntarily giving up all its weapons remains low, Li added.

He also noted that the details surrounding the establishment and operation of an international security force and a Palestinian independent technocratic team remain vague. "Whether they can gain recognition from the Palestinian people and various political factions is still uncertain – all of which will pose challenges for the second phase of negotiations."

Shibley Telhami, a professor at the University of Maryland and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is concerned that the ceasefire agreement could end up being reduced to a mere prisoner exchange deal.

"The question now is whether the first phase of this agreement will be the last. Is this truly a peace deal, or merely a temporary ceasefire and hostage release arrangement? The answer remains unclear, but I fear it's closer to the latter," he told CMG.

(With input from agencies)