JUST four of the 28 dead Israeli hostages were handed over by Hamas last night, prompting accusations of sick game-playing.
All the bodies were supposed to be returned yesterday under Trump’s peace plan – alongside the final 20 living hostages who were finally reunited with their families.
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Caskets holding four bodies were given over to Israel – which Hamas said held the bodies of Guy Illouz, Yossi Sharabi, Bipin Joshi and Daniel Perez.
But the families must wait for official identification after Hamas has previously sent back the wrong bodies.
The terror group has provided no explanation for its failure to return the rest of the bodies and honour stage one of Trump’s plan.
When Hamas made the announcement yesterday, it was immediately condemned by many Israelis as a brazen violation of the agreement.
The Hostages Forum called on the Israeli government to “take immediate action to rectify this grave injustice”.
They vowed: “We will not abandon any hostage.
“The mediators must enforce the agreement’s terms and ensure Hamas pays a price for this violation.”
Some are calling for Israel to suspend stage one of the peace process – which includes flooding Gaza with aid – until all the hostages are accounted for.
But it also remains that 83 percent of the buildings in Gaza have been levelled by two years of Israeli bombardment, which could make it difficult to locate all the remains.
Meanwhile, Hamas said it had recalled 7,000 members of its security forces in order to “cleanse Gaza of outlaws and collaborators” – sparking fears of a bloody civil war.
Videos have emerged of Hamas carrying out horrifying, cold-blooded executions on the streets of Gaza just hours after the hostages were cleared.
They reportedly targeted members of independent militias and local clans in their bid to maintain supremacy in the Strip – as well as anyone accused of colluding with Israel.
Among those killed was Ahmad Zidan al-Tarabin, said to be responsible for recruiting agents for the Abu Shabab militia.
Over the weekend, before the hostage release dozens more were killed in Gaza City in ferocious gun battles between Hamas and a rival clan.
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The terror group was reportedly cracking down on members of the Dogmush clan – which it perceives as one of its main rivals in the Strip.
Hamas gunmen were out in force as almost 2,000 Palestinians were returned in buses to Gaza.
The strip received 1,750 Gazans who had been detained there after October 7 – while 250 heavyweight prisoners serving life sentences were set loose in the West Bank.
Donald Trump was hailed as peace-bringing hero yesterday, as he declared “the historic dawn of a new Middle East” on his tour of Israel and Egypt.
The triumphant president received a rapturous standing ovation by Israel’s parliament as he announced “the long and painful nightmare is finally over” after the 20 living Israeli hostages walked free.
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He then jetted to Egypt for the Gaza Peace Summit alongside around 20 other world leaders – including Sir Keir Starmer, President Macron of France and head of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas.
Trump addressed Hamas’s failure to come up with all the hostage bodies, saying: “It’s a pretty gruesome task.
“They know the areas [where they’re located] and they’re doing it in conjunction with Israel, and they are going to be finding quite a few of them.”
Earlier in the day, a Trump delivered a triumphant 65-minute plea for a new era of peace and prosperity in the Middle East.
Addressing a cheering Knesset, he said: “After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a holy land that is finally at peace.
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“This is not only the end of a war – this is the end of an age of terror and death and the beginning of the age of faith and hope and of God.
“It’s the start of a grand concord and lasting harmony for Israel and all the nations of what will soon be a truly magnificent region.
“This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.”
He enjoyed glowing praise throughout the day – especially from the Speaker of the Knesset and Prime Minister Netanyahu, who called him “Israel’s greatest friend”.
But questions still remain over how the longer-term steps in the 20-point peace plan will be implemented.
Israel and Hamas are still miles apart on key issues – including whether Hamas be allowed to keep any weapons.
Dream of peace in Middle East is now possible thanks to Trump
By Nick Parker, Foreign Editor
TWO years ago I stood next to a pool of blood in a kibbutz village as Hamas rockets filled the air and Israeli warplanes blitzed the skyline.
Israel’s thirst for revenge was palpable after 1,200 innocents were slaughtered and 251 dragged to the hell-hole tunnels of Gaza by terrorist savages.
Hate filled the air amid talk of merciless revenge among Jews on the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
And Hamas leaders emboldened by their “victory” spread their venom across the powder keg region by crowing that the October 7 horror was “just the start”.
It seemed in those dark days that peace in the Middle East was more of an impossible dream than ever.
Exactly two years since that day in the smashed kibbutz at Be’eri, I found myself standing in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv amid scenes of joyous celebration as the last 20 hostages walked free.
And for the first time I found myself believing that — perhaps years from now — the impossible dream might come true.
Donald Trump delivered the groundbreaking first stage of an accord that has eluded past US presidents for generations by ripping up the diplomacy rule book.
He encouraged, cajoled, bullied and bulldozed all sides, praising Israel’s strongman prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly while pushing him into major concessions privately.
And he drafted in key wingmen who shared his real estate deal-making skills.
Trump’s Middle East envoy, property tycoon Steve Witkoff, 68, took centre stage working behind the scenes to lay the foundation of the deal in talks with Israel and Arab leaders.
The key deal clincher has since emerged as Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, husband of the president’s daughter Ivanka.
Recent interviews have revealed how 44-year-old “bare-knuckle” New York real-estate bruiser Kushner sealed the historic accord — by treating it just like another property deal.