LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The ceasefire in Gaza is being put to the test.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
So far, Hamas and Israel have exchanged surviving hostages and prisoners. Now Israel says it will retaliate if Hamas does not hand over more bodies of deceased hostages. Also, President Trump is warning there could be more violence if Hamas does not give up its weapons.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: If they don't disarm, we will disarm them. And it'll happen quickly and perhaps violently.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You say...
TRUMP: But they will disarm. Do you understand me?
FADEL: We have NPR's Daniel Estrin on the line from Tel Aviv to walk us through all this. Good morning.
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: So, Daniel, what is the issue over the bodies of hostages?
ESTRIN: There were 28 bodies of hostages in total in Gaza, and they're not being released as quickly as Israelis expected. Hamas handed over seven hostage bodies so far. They handed over an eighth body that the Israeli military says was not a hostage. Israel has been considering sanctions on Gaza as pressure to speed up the handover of bodies. The United Nations says they were told by Israel that Israel would be limiting humanitarian aid until the body issue is resolved. But this is a very sensitive issue because Israel does not want to be blowing up the ceasefire deal now before it gets the bodies back, but we just simply don't know how many bodies are in Hamas' possession and how many are under rubble or missing. Israel is conducting autopsies on the bodies that have been returned. One family says an autopsy revealed that their son was killed by Israeli bombardment while he was in captivity in Gaza.
FADEL: Wow, so really a very fragile moment. What more can you tell us about the Palestinian prisoners and detainees and the Israeli hostages who were released this week and what they're saying about how they were treated?
ESTRIN: Well, NPR's Anas Baba met some of the detainees released to Gaza. He met one journalist, Islam Ahmed, who said that he was beaten, insulted as the prisoners were moved out of prison on the way to be released. He said he lost about 30% of his body weight during the 10 months he had been held in Israel.
We've also been speaking to medical staff in Israel about the freed Israeli hostages. So far, they're in mostly good health. One has had a significant eye injury. Some of their families said that they had been starved in captivity, held in shackles, in chains, in tunnels. One family said their son almost didn't make it out alive - that in the final days of the war, the Israeli military bombarded very close to where he was being held. And we heard at a press conference a former hostage, Yair Horn. He saw his brother get freed now.
FADEL: Wow.
ESTRIN: And he told reporters he was thanking President Trump.
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YAIR HORN: Thanks to you, I'm standing here today. And thanks to you, my little brother is finally home.
ESTRIN: You know, we've heard family after family of hostages thanking President Trump as - and his envoys. None of them have thanked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Most of the hostage families blame him for sabotaging deals that could have released their loved ones a lot earlier.
FADEL: It's only day six of the ceasefire in Gaza, and as we said earlier, it's not exactly going smoothly. Could this deal unravel?
ESTRIN: I'd say it's being tested greatly. There have been reports of Israeli fire yesterday, killing at least six people; fire as well today. Israel said yesterday it was firing on militants trying to cross out of the ceasefire zone. We're also seeing this power battle with Hamas fighting in the streets, shooting up rival clans in this battle for power. We have seen that Egypt says that a committee of Palestinian technocrats vetted by Israel has been selected to take care of daily life in Gaza. Hamas won't be involved. They haven't gotten to work yet. There's also the issue of how Hamas will disarm. A lot yet to work out.
FADEL: NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Thank you, Daniel.
ESTRIN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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