NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte visits the US as Trump proposes freezing the battle lines in the Russia-Ukraine war.

PORTLAND (AP) — A baby elephant at the Oregon Zoo had more tricks than treats to show when handlers gave it a small pumpkin to play with during an annual fall event where giant elephants smash half-ton pumpkins.

Weighing just 775 pounds (351.5 kilograms), eight-month-old Asian elephant Tula-Tu is about the heft of one of the giant pumpkins so is too small to smash them. Instead, zoo handlers gave her a small pumpkin to practice with. The little elephant dribbled the gourd around like a soccer ball, a video from the zoo shows.

Her elephant family at the Oregon Zoo enjoyed the large pumpkins on Oct. 16 at the annual “Squishing of the Squash,” a tradition that goes back to 1999 when a farmer donated a pumpkin weighing 828 pounds (376 kilograms). The donated pumpkins have gotten bigger, around 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms) this year, thanks to competitive hobbyists at the Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers Club.

To break open the gargantuan gourds, zookeepers present them to Tula-Tu’s adult relatives like her brother and father who weigh slightly over 10,000 pounds (4,500 kilograms). In a video from the zoo, they appear to delicately place one foot at the top, and gently press down. The pumpkins crack with a loud pop, sending rind and seeds flying.

Past years’ videos have shown midsized, young elephants putting both feet on top of the pumpkins but being too light — or lacking technique — so the giant vegetables don’t burst.

This year the adults elephants smashed the massive pumpkins in front of a cheering crowd of zoo visitors, and then the family of elephants ate the many tons of squash fragments.

Asian elephants like Tula-Tu and her family are considered highly endangered, according to Oregon Zoo officials. There is a fragmented population of around 40,000 to 50,000 such elephants in the wild in places ranging from India to the Malaysian island of Borneo. But there have been successful conservation milestones in recent years, including in Cambodia.

Israel on Tuesday received the coffins of two hostages returned from Gaza through the Red Cross, and officials said the remains will be identified before being released to their families as the military vowed to keep working to bring home all remaining captives.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the coffins were handed over to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet force inside Gaza. From there, they will be transferred to Israel, where they will be received in a military ceremony with the chief military rabbi.

Once received, the coffins will be placed in the custody of the National Center of Forensic Medicine of the Ministry of Health, where they will be identified. The families will receive formal notification once the process is complete.

The prime minister’s office said all families of the deceased hostages have been updated and sympathy has been expressed for their loss.

ISRAEL NAMES TWO OF FOUR DEAD HOSTAGES RETURNED BY HAMAS, HOW THEY DIED

“The effort to return our hostages continues ceaselessly and will not stop until the very last hostage is returned,” Netanyahu’s office said.

The news comes the same day remains of a hostage returned from Gaza were identified as Sgt. Maj. Tal Haimi, commander of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak’s rapid response team.

REMAINS OF LAST FEMALE HAMAS HOSTAGE AND IDF SOLDIER HANDED OVER TO ISRAEL

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as President Donald Trump prepares to deliver remarks to the Knesset Oct. 13, 2025 in Jerusalem. (Kenny Holston/Pool/Getty Images)

Haimi was 41 when he died, and, according to the IDF, he was killed in combat while defending Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. His remains were taken to Gaza, where they were held for more than two years.

Haimi’s family initially believed he was taken alive, and Israel declared him deceased Dec. 13, 2023.

REMAINS OF LAST FEMALE HAMAS HOSTAGE AND IDF SOLDIER HANDED OVER TO ISRAEL

The Israeli army held a military protocol for deceased hostage Tal Haimi. (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

Following the identification of Haimi’s remains, Netanyahu’s office expressed condolences to his family and reiterated its call for Hamas to release the remains of all deceased hostages for proper burial.

The IDF echoed the call, demanding Hamas fulfill its obligations under the agreement brokered by the Trump administration.

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On Oct. 13, 2025, the final 20 living hostages returned to Israel after more than two years in captivity. Since then, the remains of 28 deceased hostages have gradually been returned, while 13 others — including U.S. citizens Itay Chen and Omer Neutra and soldier Hadar Goldin, whose body has been held since 2014 — remain in Gaza.

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.