The release of the 20 living hostages on Monday was a monumental moment for Israel. Now the question is whether Hamas will fulfil its obligation to return all remaining 28 hostage bodies.
It has transferred seven bodies to Israel so far. When the deal was signed on October 8, there were already reports that it would be difficult to move past its first phase.
Reports have suggested that Hamas cannot find all of the hostages’ bodies. Others have been more cynical, making it seem like neither Hamas’s nor Israel’s leaders want to get to the second phase.
This would not be the first time a deal did not reach its next part. The January 2025 deal, for one, did not reach the second phase. Israel preferred to return to fighting in March. However, US President Donald Trump and leaders and delegations from 20 countries did gather in Egypt on Monday to push the deal through.
What comes next? Al-Ain media has indicated that Hamas wants to keep its weapons – surrendering them is “off-limits.” However, the terrorist organization is supposed to be disarmed under the Trump strategy.
“Discussions of other issues have been postponed until after the hostages are handed over. The clause regarding Hamas’s surrender of its weapons was included in the Trump plan. Still, a Hamas official said on Saturday that the demand to disarm the Palestinian faction was ‘out of discussion,’” Al-Ain noted.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told the summit of world leaders on Monday that Trump’s Middle East proposal represents the “last chance” for peace in the region.
Sisi praises Trump, giving him Order of the Nile award
According to Arab News, “The summit in Egypt was aimed at supporting the ceasefire reached in Gaza, ending the Israel-Hamas War, and developing a long-term vision to rebuild the devastated Palestinian territory.”
“Trump’s plan holds out the possibility of a Palestinian state, but only after a lengthy transition period in Gaza and a reform process by the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes Palestinian independence,” the media outlet said.
Sisi praised Trump and gave him an award called the Order of the Nile. “But major questions remain over what happens next, raising the risk of a slide back into war. The gathering reflects the international will to follow through on the deal,” the Arab News report noted.
“More than 20 world leaders attended the summit, including King Abdullah of Jordan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the French president, and the British prime minister,” it said.
Another Arab News piece examined the chances for progress in the future. This is important because Arab News represents a diverse range of views in the Gulf, and it also holds a mainstream, centrist position in the region.
“Analysts cautioned that the jubilation could prove short-lived. The peace, for now, is merely procedural – the beginning of a process rather than its conclusion,” that report said.
It quoted “Hani Nasira, the Egyptian author and academic” as saying that “the Sharm el-Sheikh summit was ‘a high-level international conference convened... to sustain the Gaza ceasefire and finalize an agreement to end the war and start a new chapter for peace and stability in the region.’”
The Arab News segment also reported that he added, “The US participation is seen as a diplomatic push to secure international commitment to a peace road map that includes a declaration of long-term stability and expanded Arab and global engagement.”
“Overcoming internal Palestinian divisions and restoring national consensus” is the challenge and a prerequisite for “capitalizing on growing international recognition of the state of Palestine and turning that recognition into tangible progress on the ground,” Nasira continued.
A report at Al Arabiya also said that it will be hard to return all the deceased hostages. It quoted the Red Cross as saying that this will take time and that it will be a challenge.
This raises questions about why the Red Cross did not do more throughout the war. Christian Cardon, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, told Al Arabiya that the return of the remains of hostages and detainees killed in the war in the enclave will take time.
He described the matter as a “huge challenge, given the difficulty of finding bodies amid the rubble of Gaza.”
At the same time, another article at Al Arabiya wrote, “the Israeli security establishment opposes the opening of the Rafah crossing. Sources confirm.”
The report added that “after the European Commission announced on Monday the resumption of the European observer mission at the Rafah crossing on the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Israeli reports indicated objections.”
These reports make it clear that the hurdles so far have been the need to return the deceased hostages, the opening of the Rafah crossing, the reemergence of armed Hamas terrorists, and the willingness of the international community to stay committed to the process.