Washington DC [US], October 26 : United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with the families of Itay Chen and Omer Neutra, two American citizens who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Secretary Rubio called for the return of the bodies of deceased hostages, and said that the US "will not rest until their remains and all others are returned."
"We will not forget the lives of the hostages who died in the captivity of Hamas. Today I met with the families of American citizens Itay Chen and Omer Neutra. We will not rest until their and all remains are returned," Secretary Rubio posted on X.
https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1982053259276673165
Currently, 13 of the total 28 bodies of deceased hostages are still in Gaza. A total of 251 people, including some Americans, were taken from the Israeli border on October 7, 2023. The aftermath of the October 7 attack led to the proliferation of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, leading to the deaths of thousands of people.
Earlier, the remains of two hostages, identified as Aryeh Zalmanovich and Tamir Adar, were returned from Gaza.
President Donald Trump called on Hamas to 'quickly' return the bodies of the deceased hostages to ensure that 'everlasting' and 'strong peace' is maintained in the Gaza Strip.
Trump said that he will be observing the actions of Hamas for the next 48 hours and see whether they return the bodies of the deceased hostages, which can be reached.
"We have a very strong PEACE in the Middle East, and I believe it has a good chance of being EVERLASTING. Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly, or the other Countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will take action," Trump posted on Truth Social.
Earlier, while at a gaggle with journalists aboard Air Force One, while on his way to attend the ASEAN summit in Malaysia, President Trump expressed confidence in achieving lasting peace in the Middle East, while warning Hamas of serious consequences if the ceasefire agreement with Israel is violated.
"I think it (ceasefire) will hold. Well, if it doesn't hold, it's Hamas. Hamas will not be hard to deal with very quickly. I hope it holds for Hamas too because they gave us their world on something, so I think it's going to hold, and if it doesn't, then they'll have a very big problem," Trump said.
President Trump also highlighted the wide support for the peace plan, with multiple people agreeing to join the Stabilization Force to help maintain peace in the region.
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