‘Phase 2’ of truce deal begins, Hamas prepares to return more bodies: Trump

US President Donald Trump said it was time to move into the next phase of the truce agreement as Hamas prepared to hand over more bodies of deceased Israeli captives.

“All twenty hostages are back and doing as well as can be expected. A heavy burden has been lifted, but the mission isn’t over,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.

“The dead have not been returned as promised! Phase two begins right now!”

His statement came shortly after he concluded a brief visit to Israel and Egypt.

At the same time, Hamas notified mediators that it would begin transferring the bodies of four more deceased Israeli captives to Israel at 1900 GMT on Tuesday, according to an official involved in the process who spoke to Reuters.

During his visit, Trump hailed a “historic dawn of a new Middle East” as he and regional leaders signed a declaration aimed at solidifying the Gaza ceasefire.

As part of the agreement, the remaining 20 living captives were released just before Trump’s arrival in Israel.

While Hamas had already returned four bodies on Monday, it still holds the remains of 24 hostages, which are expected to be repatriated under the truce terms.

Separately, a Gaza hospital reported receiving the bodies of 45 Palestinians that Israel had handed over as part of the same deal.