Bodies of two U.S. hostages recovered in Israeli military operation in Gaza

• Their bodies were held by a Hamas 0ff-shoot called "The Mujahideen Brigades" for more than 600 days.
• The remains of 36 additional hostages are still believed to be held in Gaza, including Americans Itay Chen and Omer Neutra.

Driving the news: The IDF and Shin Bet said the operation to recover their bodies was conducted on Wednesday night by special forces acting on precise intelligence.

State of play: The Trump administration is still negotiating with Israel and Hamas over a new Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, but talks are deadlocked.

• The U.S., Qatar and Egypt have been pressing Hamas in recent days to revise its initial response to the most recent U.S. proposal.

What they are saying: White House envoy Steve Witkoff wrote on X he is "grateful" for the Israeli soldiers who brought home the remains of Judy Weinstein and Gad Haggai "so that they may now rest in peace."

• "Hamas must accept the ceasefire proposal put forward so that the remaining living hostages can return to their loved ones and the remains of those killed can come home to their families. While those killed can never be replaced, this closure is absolutely critical and a minimum of human decency," Witkoff stressed.

Go deeper: U.S. vetoes UN security council resolution demanding immediate ceasefire in Gaza