Israel informed the Trump administration on Wednesday, October 15th, 2025, that Hamas is not adequately recovering the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages, preventing the Gaza deal from advancing to its next phase. Two advisers to President Trump told reporters they do not believe Hamas has violated the agreement yet, citing a lack of heavy equipment in Gaza necessary for such recovery efforts, with one adviser stating it is "almost impossible for Hamas to reach all the dead hostages." This development follows earlier reports on October 15th, 2025, concerning the return of two presumed hostage bodies to Israel for identification. The bodies were escorted by IDF forces across the border into Israel shortly before 9:36 PM UTC, and were en route to the National Center for Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv. The IDF had previously confirmed these bodies were handed over by Hamas via Red Cross vehicles within Gaza earlier that day. Hamas stated they have handed over the hostage bodies in their possession and are facing difficulties recovering the remaining 19 deceased hostages due to a need for specialized equipment, a claim Israeli officials maintain is untrue, stating Hamas knows the exact locations. Separately, sources in Gaza reported on October 15th, 2025, that Yahya Al-Sinwar personally led an intelligence operation since April of the previous year, intercepting thousands of dollars sent by the UAE through Mohammed Dahlan and Tahnoun bin Zayed to agents in Gaza. According to these sources, Hamas planted double agents within families and gangs communicating with the occupation, diverting UAE funds intended to sow chaos to strengthen the resistance. This operation, supervised by Yahya and Mohammed Al-Sinwar, intercepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from the UAE.
