Israel warns U.S. Gaza deal could stall if Hamas won't return hostage bodies

Driving the news: An immediate crisis was averted over the last 24 hours when Hamas returned the bodies of three hostages on Tuesday and another two on Wednesday, bringing the total to nine out of 28.

• After Hamas returned those bodies, Israel backed off threats to halve the number of aid trucks allowed into Gaza and keep the border crossing between Egypt and Gaza closed.
• But Hamas now says it doesn't have any additional remains to return, and recovering more will require "efforts and special equipment."
• Israeli officials acknowledge that a small number of the bodies will be hard to locate, but claim between 15 and 20 could be quickly returned.

Friction point: The U.S. wants to begin negotiations on the next phase of the deal, tackling sensitive issues like who will govern Gaza and provide security. But Israeli officials warn it will be very difficult to move to the next phase without progress on the hostage remains.

Between the lines: Both Israeli and U.S. officials close to the process are concerned that elements within the Netanyahu government — particularly ultranationalist ministers Betzalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir — will use the issue of hostage remains to undermine the deal (which they oppose) and push for the resumption of the war.

• "Hamas will give all the bodies back, but it is going to take time. We will continue working on it but we can't allow the deal to collapse," a U.S. official told Axios.

Behind the scenes: On Wednesday, Israeli minister for strategic affairs Ron Dermer spoke to President Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and accused Hamas of "slow-walking" the returns, the Israeli and U.S. officials said.

• Two Israeli officials said Israel gave the U.S. new intelligence that shows Hamas has access to more of the bodies than it claims.
• "We don't see Hamas making maximum effort regarding the bodies. We know they can do more and we don't think anybody should give them any discounts," a senior Israeli official said.
• Two senior U.S. advisers to President Trump said Kushner and Witkoff told Dermer Israel should give the U.S. all the information it has on the possible locations of bodies so the U.S. can "challenge" Hamas to "do more to find more bodies."
• In a briefing with reporters, the U.S. advisers said they don't think Hamas has violated the agreement yet regarding the bodies of the hostages.

What they're saying: Trump also said Wednesday that he believes Hamas is searching for the bodies. "It's a very gruesome process. They are digging. There are areas where they dig and find many bodies and they need to separate them. Some of the bodies have been there for a long time. Some are buried under the rubble, some are in tunnels," he said.

• The advisers said it's true that heavy equipment that's not currently available in Gaza is needed for such a search effort. "It's almost impossible for Hamas to reach all the dead hostages," one of them said.
• The adviser added that the U.S. is going to offer rewards for Palestinians that have information that can lead to the bodies of hostages, and that Turkey and other governments will send experts to help with the recovery process.

The big picture: Israel told the Trump administration that it's committed to moving towards phase two of the deal — which calls on Hamas to disarm and give up power and Israel to expand its withdrawal from Gaza, Israeli officials say.

• But the officials also stress the transition to phase two will be swifter if the bodies are returned quickly.

What to watch: Negotiating the second phase of the deal is expected to be extremely difficult, especially when it comes to the demilitarization of Gaza.

• President Trump said that if Hamas refuses to disarm, it could be done by force and could even lead to the resumption of the war.

This story was updated with comments from Trump and two U.S. advisers.