Trump says Hamas searching for hostage bodies in 'gruesome' process

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Hamas is continuing its efforts to find the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages who were held in Gaza, a key component of his 20-point ceasefire plan.

Trump said Hamas is "absolutely" looking for the remains of deceased hostages and is searching through the rubble of buildings toppled by Israeli bombardment, as well as through tunnels underneath Gaza's streets.

"We have the living hostages all back. They returned some more today. It's a gruesome process," he said. "But they're digging. They're actually digging. There are areas where they're digging, and they're finding a lot of bodies. Then they have to separate the bodies. You wouldn't believe this. And some of those bodies have been in there a long time, and some of them are under rubble. They have to remove rubble."

Trump reiterated his warning to Hamas that it must disarm under the terms of his ceasefire agreement, saying that if it refuses to do so, "we'll do it."