Egyptian authorities and International Committee of the Red Cross Join Search for Captive Bodies in Gaza Strip
Teams from Egyptian authorities and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been authorized to locate the remains of hostages who perished taken during the October 7th incidents, Israeli authorities have verified.
The Israeli government stated that the crews have been allowed to operate beyond the so-called "demarcation line" in the area controlled by military personnel in the Gaza territory.
Hamas has transferred 15 out of twenty-eight hostages who lost their lives under the initial stage of a American-mediated ceasefire deal, which mandates it to transfer all remains of captives. The group said it is now working together with Egyptian authorities.
The former US president has warned Hamas to start return the bodies "quickly, or the other countries involved in this significant peace will take action".
An official representative indicated the Egyptian team has been permitted to work with the ICRC to find the bodies, and would use digging equipment and vehicles for the operation past the "yellow line".
The "yellow line" indicates the border running along the northern, south and east of Gaza that Israeli forces withdrew to, as part of the first stage of the truce agreement.
Previously, Israel has not approved the access of these crews.
The Egyptian government, along with Qatar and Turkish authorities, is a key signatory of the mediated by Trump Gaza peace plan, which was signed in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh earlier this month.
The development will be welcomed by relatives, desperate to provide a dignified funeral.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has already been deeply engaged in the return of hostages.
The organization does not hand over its captives - living or deceased - directly to the IDF, but instead to the ICRC, which in turn escorts them through Gaza and hands them on to the Israeli military.
But the entry of digging crews from Egypt inside the Gaza territory is new.
After more than two years of heavy shelling by Israeli forces, the UN calculates that as much as 84% of the area has been reduced to rubble.
Hamas says it is doing its best to retrieve hostage bodies, but it faces difficulty locating them under rubble of buildings destroyed by the IDF in Gaza.
It is now working in coordination with the Egyptian authorities.
On the weekend, an Israeli government spokesperson stated that Hamas knew where the bodies were.
"If the group made more of an effort, they would be able to recover the remains of our captives," the representative said.
Trump shared on his Truth Social platform on the weekend that measures would be implemented if the remains of the hostages who died were not returned promptly.
"A portion of the bodies are hard to reach, but the rest they can return now and, for some reason, they are not. Perhaps it has to do with their disarming," he remarked.
Trump continued: "Let's see what they accomplish over the next 48 hours. I am monitoring the situation very closely."
- Gaza children losing their lives as they wait for Israel to enable relocations
- Rubio states lots of countries willing to participate in the region's security force
- Recent photographs reveal Israeli control line further into the territory than expected
On the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the country would determine which international troops it would permit as part of a proposed international force in the region to help secure the ceasefire under the former president's initiative.
"We are in control of our security, and we have also stated explicitly regarding international forces that Israel will determine which forces are not acceptable to us, and this is how we function and will continue to operate," he declared talking at the start of a cabinet meeting.
On the end of the week, the American diplomat indicated "a lot of countries" had volunteered to be involved in the contingent - but noted Israeli authorities would have to be comfortable with participants.
This seemed like a reference to the Turkish government, amid reports Israel had vetoed the country's involvement.
It was still uncertain, however, how such a force could be deployed without an agreement with Hamas.
The Israeli military initiated a military campaign in the territory in following the incidents of October 7th, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about twelve hundred individuals and captured 251 additional persons as captives.
At least sixty-eight thousand five hundred nineteen have been lost their lives in military actions in Gaza from that time, according to the territory's health authorities under the group's control.