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Israeli soldiers guard Sergeant Major Tal Haimi's coffin on Oct. 21, 2025. This image was modified by the IDF to conceal the soldiers' identities. Courtesy of the IDF
The Israeli military said on Oct. 20 that the body of an IDF soldier abducted by the Hamas terrorist group had been returned to Israel.
The coffin of the deceased hostage was escorted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) into Israel on Monday, the IDF and Israel Security Agency said in a joint statement.
Upon completion of the identification process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israel Police, the IDF identified the deceased hostage as Sergeant Major Tal Haimi.
Haimi, 41, was killed defending Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, close to the border with the Gaza Strip, on Oct. 7, 2023, and his body was held by Hamas in Gaza for more than two years, the Israeli government said. He was married with four children.
“A mechanical engineer and member of the kibbutz’s response team, Tal fought at the entrance to Nir Yitzhak, holding off Hamas terrorists,” the government said.
The IDF has called on Hamas to fulfill its part of the U.S.-brokered cease-fire agreement by releasing the remaining deceased hostages to their families in Israel.
Hamassaid on Tuesday on the Telegram channel of Al-Aqsa TV, a Hamas-run media outlet, that it will hand over two more bodies of hostages as part of the prisoner exchange deal with Israel.
There are still 15 out of the 28 bodies of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Earlier this month, all 20 living hostages were released after the agreement of the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents relatives of most of the Israeli hostages, said on Tuesday that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner had met with the released hostages.
Witkoff and Kushner traveled to Israel on Monday to continue diplomatic efforts toward the cease-fire agreement. The forum said the released hostages thanked Witkoff, Kushner, and Trump for their role in securing the peace deal and urged them to bring back the remaining 15 dead hostages.
“During the meeting, Witkoff reaffirmed the United States’ steadfast dedication to the mission expressed his confidence in the ability to bring back the remaining hostages,” the statement said.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, arrived in Israel on Tuesday to continue work on the Gaza peace deal. After arrival, Vance held a working meeting at the airport with Witkoff and Kushner.
‘Yellow Line’
The arrival of U.S. officials in Israel comes amid reports that Hamas has violated the cease-fire agreement.
On Sunday, the Israeli military said it struck Hamas targets in Gaza in response to alleged violations of a U.S.-brokered cease-fire.
The IDF said Hamas fired an anti-tank missile at troops operating in the Rafah area, killing two Israeli soldiers. In retaliation, the IDF said it hit Hamas “weapons storage facilities, firing posts, [and] terrorist cells,” as well as underground infrastructure it said was used to advance attacks against Israel.
Later in the day, the IDF said it had begun “renewed enforcement of the cease-fire.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States believes alleged attacks were carried out by “some rebels within” Hamas rather than by the group’s leadership.
On Monday, the IDF reported breaches of the “yellow line” that marks Israel’s agreed withdrawal point. The Israeli military said it deployed troops in the area in accordance with the agreement.
The IDF said on Monday that it has begun physically marking the yellow line in Gaza to “establish tactical clarity on the ground.”
A video released by the IDF shows bulldozers towing yellow blocks to mark the line. The concrete barrier is placed about every 200 meters with a pole standing 3.5 meters high, the IDF said, adding that “the marking process will continue in the coming period.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Monday that Hamas members found beyond the “yellow line” would be “a target for attack without any further warning.”
In addition to the release of hostages, Washington’s 20-point peace plan also calls for the disarmament of Hamas, as well as aid and reconstruction in Gaza.
Israeli soldiers stand next to tanks near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel on Oct. 19, 2025. Amir Cohen/Reuters
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump said if Hamas doesn’t abide by the cease-fire agreement, it could be eradicated.
“This is a very violent group of people, and they got very rambunctious, and they did things that they shouldn’t be doing,” he said during a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. “And if they keep doing it, then we’re going to go in and straighten it out, and it’ll happen very quickly and pretty violently, unfortunately.”
In a post on Truth Social on Oct. 21, Trump said that several U.S. allies in the Middle East had told him they would be willing to enter Gaza with force to deal with Hamas if it violated the cease-fire agreement.
“Numerous of our NOW GREAT ALLIES in the Middle East, and areas surrounding the Middle East, have explicitly and strongly, with great enthusiasm, informed me that they would welcome the opportunity, at my request, to go into GAZA with a heavy force and ‘straighten out Hamas’ if Hamas continues to act badly, in violation of their agreement with us,” he said.
Trump added that he had told these countries and Israel that there was still hope Hamas would act responsibly
“The love and spirit for the Middle East has not been seen like this in a thousand years! It is a beautiful thing to behold! I told these countries, and Israel, ‘NOT YET!’” Trump wrote.
“There is still hope that Hamas will do what is right. If they do not, an end to Hamas will be FAST, FURIOUS, & BRUTAL! I would like to thank all of those countries that called to help.”
Hazem Qassem, a spokesperson for Hamas, said on Monday on Al-Aqsa TV’s Telegram channel, that the group is working toward the “complete handover of all the bodies of the Israeli captives.”
He noted that the task faces major challenges due to the extensive destruction across the Gaza Strip. The spokesperson said that among the difficulties faced in handing over the prisoners’ bodies is the lack of heavy equipment to remove the rubble, which has been made clear to the mediators.
Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Monday that more than 68,000 people have died in Gaza since the conflict began two years ago. The figure does not distinguish between combatants and civilians and includes some deaths from natural causes. The Epoch Times cannot verify these figures.
Evgenia Filimianova is a UK-based journalist covering a wide range of international stories, with a particular interest in foreign policy, economy, and UK politics.
