Anger is rising throughout Israel as Hamas retains possession of the bodies of 20 deceased captives, even after the U.S. president’s stern warning to forcibly disarm the group.

On Tuesday night, the militant organization released four bodies, prompting relatives of those still held to rally in the streets of Tel Aviv, demanding the safe return of their family members.

This development followed the announcement on Monday of the first hostages released under the Gaza ceasefire agreement. The individuals identified were Guy Iluz, 26, Bipin Joshi, 33, Yossi Sharabi, 54, and Daniel Peretz, 22.

By Tuesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the retrieval of four additional bodies.

“All hostage families have been informed, and in this challenging time, our thoughts are with them,” Netanyahu stated.

‘The effort to bring back our hostages continues relentlessly and will not stop until the last hostage is returned.’

The International Committee of the Red Cross says it facilitated the transfer of the four deceased hostages to Israel and the bodies of 45 Palestinians to Gaza today.

‘These operations were carried out in line with the ceasefire agreement, and it is crucial that the parties and mediators ensure the agreement is faithfully upheld,’ it said.

Julian Lerisson, the head of the Red Cross in the region, says the organisation is ‘prepared to fulfil our role for as long as it takes’.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump threatened to forcibly disarm Hamas if they refuse to give up their weapons as the Gaza ceasefire deal hangs by a thread. 

‘They will disarm – and if they don’t I’m gonna make them disarm,’ the president told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. ‘They know what I mean.’

Trump warned that America stood ready to bring about Hamas’s disarmament ‘quickly and perhaps violently’.

Following the latest handover, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer issued a statement calling on Hamas to return all the bodies of Israeli hostages that it is still holding, and to honour the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

The UK leader also paid tribute to slain hostage Yossi Sharabi, whose body was returned by Hamas on Monday. He has British family who Starmer has met previously.

The PM said in a statement: ‘The release of the bodies of the deceased hostages is a profoundly difficult moment for the families who have endured terrible and protracted pain over the last two years at the hands of Hamas.

‘The loss of Yossi Sharabi will be felt deeply by his family, after Hamas so cruelly drew out their horror and denied them the right to grieve.

‘I know from meeting his family just how loved Yossi was, and how devastating this ordeal has been. My thoughts are with them, and all of the hostage families.

‘Hamas must now return the remaining deceased hostages and honour the terms of the ceasefire.

‘Moving forward, we will continue to work with our partners to ensure the next phase of the peace plan is implemented in full.’

The families of at least 20 others are still waiting for their loved ones to be brought home.

‘We informed the mediators that we will hand over four to six bodies of Israeli prisoners tonight,’ a Hamas official said on Tuesday.

Earlier, Israeli officials said the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt would remain closed at least through Wednesday, with aid deliveries into Gaza reduced to pressure Hamas to return the remaining bodies.

Israel said the flow of aid into the devastated Palestinian territory would be cut by half and the crucial Rafah border crossing with Egypt would not open as planned, blaming Hamas for delays in the return of bodies of hostages. 

Red Cross teams are searching Gaza’s ruins for deceased hostages after Israel warned Hamas it had until tonight to deliver the rest.

But the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned the process could take considerable time given the difficulty of recovering bodies from the rubble.

‘The search for human remains is obviously an even bigger challenge than having the people alive being released,’ ICRC spokesperson Christian Cardon said in Geneva, adding it could take days or weeks.

But Israel responded severely, accusing Hamas of deliberate delays. It announced the halving of the number of aid trucks allowed into Gaza to 300 a day, and postponed the opening of a major aid crossing point into Gaza from Egypt at Rafah.

A copy of the ceasefire agreement published by Israeli media had stated that the remains of all of the deceased hostages should be handed over by 12:00 local time (09:00 GMT) on Monday – but it also appeared to acknowledge that Hamas and other Palestinian factions may not be able to locate all of them within that timeframe. 

It comes after Israel’s far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, released a statement before the latest handover of deceased hostages to the Red Cross.

In his statement, Ben-Gvir called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt aid to Gaza if Hamas does not immediately return all of the hostages’ bodies.

Ben-Gvir, who was sanctioned by the UK earlier this year, said the fact Hamas was yet to return 24 bodies to Israel indicated the ‘mission to destroy it [Hamas] has not yet been achieved’.

Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza on Monday under a ceasefire deal, while Israel released busloads of Palestinian detainees as US President Donald Trump declared an end to the two-year war.

Only the coffins of Guy Iluz, 26, Bipin Joshi, 33, Yossi Sharabi, 54, and Daniel Peretz, 22, have so far been returned to Israel, leaving more than 20 bodies still unaccounted for.

Israel is also expected to hand over an unspecified number of Palestinian remains.

The ICRC said it has deployed 23 additional staff, body bags and refrigerated vehicles to help ensure the dead are treated with dignity in Gaza, much of which lies in ruins.

It said it was a ‘massive challenge’ given the difficulties of finding bodies in Gaza’s rubble.

For its part, Israel is supposed to hand over an unspecified number of Palestinian bodies.

But ICRC spokesperson Cardon said: ‘I think there is clearly a risk that that will take much more time. What we are telling the parties is that that should be their top priority,’ he said on Tuesday.

‘All parties must ensure that the return of human remains is done under dignified conditions, and uphold dignity and humanity,’ the ICRC added in a statement.

Cardon declined to discuss further details about the possible whereabouts of the deceased hostages, citing the sensitivity of the ongoing operation. 

It is, however, feared that some of the remains may never be located.

Cardon praised the fact that the handover of the 20 living hostages on Monday was done discreetly, without a repeat of the Hamas-directed hostage release ceremonies of previous transfers.

The ICRC, a neutral humanitarian intermediary, has facilitated the transfer of 172 hostages and 3,473 Palestinian detainees since the war began on October 7, 2023.

But despite the recent celebrations, it remains unclear whether the peace will hold after two years of fighting that has left more than 70,000 dead, according to Gaza’s health ministry. 

Trump’s 20-point peace plan demands that Hamas disarm, and turn over the dead hostages – neither pledge has yet been honored. 

Lianne Pollack-David, former senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, says the most critical test lies ahead. Trump’s peace deal risks complete collapse if Hamas fails to return the bodies of all deceased Israeli hostages, she says.

The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, an Israeli advocacy group, warned that Hamas is already in ‘blatant breach’ of the peace agreement after it failed to release all of the remains today.

Pollack-David, who previously negotiated with Palestinians, described the current phase of the deal as dangerously unstable, with the Israel Defense Forces having partially withdrawn to what is called the ‘yellow line’ –– about a 50 percent pullback.

If Hamas violates the terms, that retreat could be reversed rapidly.

She emphasized that Trump’s agreement is not a peace deal, but a shaky ceasefire with terrorists which was only in its initial phase. Much is unresolved.

Pollack-David says Hamas has already shown signs of defiance, including using psychological tactics to maintain a sense of control.

She says Hamas called the parents of these hostages and let them speak to their loved ones, because they wanted to let them know they maintain control over them.

‘I don’t expect Hamas to come out in the next few days or months waving a white flag. They will do whatever they can to survive, and they’re already playing these tricks,’ the Netanyahu insider said.

She added, ‘What they do next could blow up the whole deal.’