Egyptian authorities and Red Cross Participate in Effort for Captive Bodies in Gaza Strip
Teams from Egyptian authorities and the ICRC have been authorized to search for the remains of deceased hostages captured during the October 7th incidents, Israeli authorities have verified.
The authorities in Israel stated that the crews have been allowed to search beyond the so-called "yellow line" in the region controlled by Israeli forces in Gaza.
The group has transferred 15 out of twenty-eight hostages who lost their lives under the first phase of a American-mediated ceasefire deal, which mandates it to transfer all hostage bodies. The organization stated it is now coordinating with Egyptian authorities.
Donald Trump has warned Hamas to start return the remains "quickly, or the other countries involved in this significant peace will take action".
An official representative indicated the crew from Egypt has been authorized to collaborate with the Red Cross to locate the remains, and would use excavator machines and trucks for the operation past the "demarcation line".
The "demarcation line" indicates the border running along the north, south and east of Gaza that Israeli forces withdrew to, as part of the first stage of the truce agreement.
Until now, Israel has not approved the access of such teams.
The Egyptian government, along with Qatar and Turkey, is a principal participant of the mediated by Trump Gaza peace plan, which was ratified in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh earlier this month.
The news will be welcomed by relatives, eager to give them a proper burial.
The ICRC has already been heavily involved in the repatriation of hostages.
Hamas does not transfer its detainees - living or deceased - straight to the IDF, but rather to the ICRC, which in turn accompanies them through the territory and hands them on to the Israeli military.
But the arrival of digging crews from Egypt inside the Gaza territory is new.
After more than two years of intense bombardment by Israel, the United Nations estimates that as much as 84% of the area has been reduced to rubble.
Hamas says it is doing its best to recover remains of captives, but it encounters challenges locating them under debris of structures bombed out by the IDF in Gaza.
It is now coordinating with the officials in Egypt.
On Sunday, an official representative said that Hamas knew where the bodies were.
"If Hamas made more of an effort, they would be able to recover the remains of our captives," the representative said.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on the weekend that action would be implemented if the remains of the deceased hostages were not handed back promptly.
"Some of the remains are difficult to access, but the rest they can hand over at present and, for unknown reasons, they are not. Perhaps it has to do with their demilitarization," he said.
Trump added: "We will observe what they do over the next 48 hours. I am monitoring the situation with great attention."
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On the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would decide which foreign forces it would permit as part of a planned international force in Gaza to help secure the ceasefire under the former president's initiative.
"We are in control of our safety, and we have also made it clear regarding foreign troops that Israel will determine which units are unacceptable to us, and this is how we operate and will proceed," he said speaking at the beginning of a cabinet meeting.
On Friday, the American diplomat said "a lot of countries" had volunteered to be involved in the contingent - but added Israeli authorities would have to be satisfied with those taking part.
This seemed like a reference to Turkey, amid reports Israeli officials had vetoed the country's participation.
It was still uncertain, however, how such a force could be deployed without an understanding with Hamas.
The Israeli military initiated a armed operation in the territory in following the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen took the lives of about twelve hundred people and captured two hundred fifty-one others as captives.
At least sixty-eight thousand five hundred nineteen have been killed in Israeli attacks in the region since then, according to the territory's health authorities under the group's control.
