Trump’s Middle East peace plan hits an early snag in Gaza

The reason: a controversy over Hamas’s failure to return all of the bodies of dead hostages that remain in Gaza. Israel and the Arab mediators in the talks knew Hamas wasn’t able to locate all of them, but the militant group’s initial decision to return only four looked like foot-dragging to Israel and set off a highly political skirmish amid demands the deal be halted until the bodies were back.

While the holdups aren’t themselves expected to derail Trump’s plan, the dispute over a matter that wasn’t expected to trip things up underscores the fragility of a high-stakes deal forged using the president’s unconventional diplomatic strategy of declaring success on broad goals then leaving it to the parties to work out the details. Even thornier issues lie ahead, including the composition of the Arab-led force that is supposed to secure Gaza, how much of a commitment will be made to a pathway to a Palestinian state, and the disarmament of Hamas, the U.S.-designated terrorist group that controls the enclave.

Before moving deeper into formal talks to resolve those issues, Israel and Hamas must first move past the initial phase of the deal they agreed to last week—which was supposed to be the easy part. Under that agreement, Hamas would hand over all 48 remaining hostages—living and dead—in exchange for Israel’s release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and a staged withdrawal of its troops.

Twenty living hostages returned to Israel on Monday, but Hamas has been slow to deliver on the remains of 28 others. Negotiators knew from the outset that recovering the bodies would be difficult amid the rubble of war-ravaged Gaza, but Israeli officials say Hamas is delaying on purpose to keep what little leverage it has left.

“We know as a matter of fact they can easily bring a significant number of dead hostages and give them back," Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Thursday. “So what they are doing right now, it’s a fundamental breach of the agreement."

Hamas reiterated its support for Trump’s deal Thursday and said finding the bodies will take some time.

“Hamas affirms its commitment to the agreement and its keenness to implement it, including delivering all remaining bodies," it said, blaming Israel for hindering the task by holding up efforts to bring in recovery teams.

In its initial handover Monday, Hamas returned four bodies, fewer than Israel expected and deeply disappointing to the families awaiting their return. Another six bodies have since been handed over, after Israel said it would curb the flow of humanitarian aid in response to what it viewed as Hamas’s violation of the pact.

One of the bodies was determined by forensic analysis not to be that of a hostage, bringing the total number of bodies returned to nine.

Hamas has told mediators that recovering the bodies from beneath the rubble of Gaza could take weeks and require special equipment that isn’t currently allowed to enter the war-torn enclave, such as bulldozers and excavators.

Acknowledging the challenge, Israel and mediating countries formed an international task force including Egypt and Turkey to help recover the remains. Still, Israeli officials believe Hamas is holding out on bodies it can recover more quickly. Arab officials said Israel told mediators Wednesday that it believed Hamas knew the location of at least six others.

“Hamas seems to be stretching the terms around the return of the bodies, playing on the margins of what has been agreed," said Avishay Ben Sasson-Gordis, a senior researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies.

However, he said, “it’s unlikely right now that this will derail the cease-fire and push us back into war."

If mediators can push past the dispute over the bodies, they have a host of even more complex issues to work out. Technical teams from Israel and Hamas began preliminary negotiations this week for the second phase of the plan, but it’s unclear when or where formal talks will be held.

Meanwhile, conditions on the ground in Gaza are changing fast, with Hamas already reasserting its authority in areas where Israeli troops pulled back. It has deployed thousands of armed men to patrol the streets, often dressed in civilian clothes. The group has launched a violent crackdown on rival militias, publicly executing several members of a powerful Palestinian family in Gaza City.

After initially telling reporters that Hamas was given “approval for a period of time" to secure Gaza until an international security force steps in, Trump’s tone shifted as the violence escalated.

“If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them," Trump said Thursday on social media.

Write to Summer Said at summer.said@wsj.com and Feliz Solomon at feliz.solomon@wsj.com