Egyptian authorities along with International Committee of the Red Cross Join Search for Hostage Remains in Gaza
Teams from Egyptian authorities and the ICRC have been authorized to search for the remains of hostages who perished captured during the October 7th incidents, Israeli authorities have confirmed.
The Israeli government announced that the teams have been permitted to search beyond the referred to as "yellow line" in the area controlled by military personnel in Gaza.
The group has handed over fifteen out of 28 hostages who lost their lives under the initial stage of a US-brokered truce agreement, which mandates it to transfer all remains of captives. The organization said it is now working together with Egyptian authorities.
Donald Trump has warned the organization to begin returning the remains "quickly, or the additional nations involved in this significant peace will intervene".
An Israeli spokesperson indicated the Egyptian team has been authorized to work with the Red Cross to locate the remains, and would use excavator machines and trucks for the search past the "yellow line".
The "yellow line" indicates the boundary running along the northern, southern and east of the Gaza territory that Israeli forces withdrew to, as part of the initial phase of the truce agreement.
Until now, Israeli authorities has not approved the entry of such teams.
The Egyptian government, along with Qatar and Turkey, is a key signatory of the mediated by Trump Gaza peace plan, which was ratified in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in recent weeks.
The news will be welcomed by family members, eager to give them a proper burial.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has already been deeply engaged in the return of captives.
Hamas does not transfer its detainees - alive or deceased - directly to the IDF, but instead to the Red Cross, which in turn escorts them through the territory and transfers them to the Israeli military.
But the arrival of digging crews from Egypt inside the Gaza Strip is new.
After more than two years of intense bombardment by Israel, the United Nations calculates that as much as 84% of the territory has been reduced to rubble.
The group says it is doing its best to retrieve hostage bodies, but it encounters challenges finding them under debris of buildings destroyed by the IDF in Gaza.
It is now coordinating with the Egyptian authorities.
On the weekend, an Israeli government spokesperson stated that Hamas was aware of where the bodies were.
"If Hamas put in greater work, they would be able to retrieve the remains of our captives," the representative said.
The former president shared on his social media account on Saturday that action would be taken if the bodies of the hostages who died were not returned quickly.
"A portion of the remains are difficult to access, but the rest they can return now and, for some reason, they are not. Maybe it has to do with their demilitarization," he remarked.
Trump added: "Let's see what they do over the coming two days. I am watching this very closely."
- Palestinian children dying as they await Israel to permit relocations
- The US Secretary of State says many nations prepared to participate in the region's security force
- New images show demarcation zone deeper into Gaza than expected
On Sunday, the Israeli leader announced Israel would decide which foreign forces it would allow as part of a planned multinational contingent in the region to help maintain the truce under the former president's initiative.
"We are in control of our safety, and we have also stated explicitly regarding foreign troops that we will decide which units are unacceptable to us, and this is how we function and will continue to operate," he said speaking at the beginning of a cabinet meeting.
On Friday, the American diplomat said "a lot of countries" had offered to be involved in the contingent - but noted Israel would have to be satisfied with those taking part.
This seemed like a allusion to the Turkish government, amid accounts Israeli officials had vetoed the nation's involvement.
It was still uncertain, however, how such a force could be stationed without an understanding with Hamas.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in following the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen took the lives of about 1,200 individuals and took 251 others as hostages.
No fewer than 68,519 have been lost their lives in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the area's health authorities under the group's control.