Netanyahu 'determined' to pressure Hamas to find remaining dead hostages

October 16, 2025

Netanyahu 'determined' to pressure Hamas to find remaining dead hostages

Israel's prime minister has told a memorial for victims of the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 that he is "determined" to secure the return of the dead hostages still inside Gaza, and that the country will continue to fight terrorism with "full force".

Benjamin Netanyahu made the comments hours after Hamas returned the bodies of another two hostages but said it was not able to access the remaining 19.

There has been fury in Israel that Hamas has not yet returned all the bodies in line with last week's Gaza ceasefire deal, though the US has downplayed the suggestion that it amounts to a breach .

Israel has responded to the delay by threatening to restrict the amount of aid flowing into Gaza.

Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli government confirmed that two bodies handed over by Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Wednesday night had been identified as Inbar Hayman and Sgt Maj Muhammad al-Atarash.

Their return, which was overseen by masked Hamas gunmen in Gaza City, took the number of dead hostages returned since Monday to nine out of 28.

All 20 living hostages were released on Monday, in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

Hamas's military wing said on Wednesday that it would continue to search for the remaining bodies, but that it would require major efforts and specialist equipment.