Egypt and International Committee of the Red Cross Participate in Effort for Captive Remains in Gaza Strip
Teams from Egyptian authorities and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been granted permission to search for the remains of hostages who perished captured during the 7 October attacks, officials in Israel have confirmed.
The authorities in Israel announced that the teams have been permitted to search beyond the so-called "demarcation line" in the region controlled by Israeli forces in the Gaza territory.
Hamas has handed over fifteen out of 28 hostages who lost their lives under the initial stage of a American-mediated ceasefire deal, which requires it to hand over all remains of captives. The group stated it is now coordinating with officials in Egypt.
The former US president has cautions Hamas to start return the remains "promptly, or the additional nations participating in this great peace will intervene".
An Israeli spokesperson indicated the crew from Egypt has been permitted to collaborate with the Red Cross to find the bodies, and would use digging equipment and vehicles for the search past the "yellow line".
The "demarcation line" marks the border running along the north, south and east of the Gaza territory that Israeli forces pulled back to, as part of the initial phase of the ceasefire deal.
Previously, Israeli authorities has not authorized the entry of these crews.
The Egyptian government, along with Qatar and Turkish authorities, is a principal participant of the mediated by Trump Gaza peace plan, which was signed in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh earlier this month.
The news will be greeted positively by family members, eager to provide a proper burial.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has already been deeply engaged in the return of hostages.
Hamas does not hand over its detainees - living or deceased - directly to the Israel Defense Forces, but instead to the Red Cross, which in turn accompanies them through the territory and hands them on to the IDF.
But the entry of digging crews from Egypt inside the Gaza territory is a recent development.
After more than 24 months of heavy shelling by Israeli forces, the UN calculates that as much as 84% of the territory has been destroyed completely.
Hamas says it is making every effort to recover hostage bodies, but it encounters challenges locating them under debris of structures destroyed by the IDF in the region.
It is now working in coordination with the Egyptian authorities.
On Sunday, an official representative stated that the organization was aware of where the bodies were.
"If the group put in greater work, they would be able to retrieve the remains of our hostages," the representative said.
Trump shared on his Truth Social platform on the weekend that action would be implemented if the remains of the deceased hostages were not returned promptly.
"A portion of the bodies are difficult to access, but the rest they can return at present and, for unknown reasons, they are not. Maybe it has to do with their demilitarization," he remarked.
Trump continued: "Let's see what they accomplish over the next 48 hours. I am monitoring the situation very closely."
- Palestinian children dying as they await Israel to permit relocations
- Rubio says lots of nations prepared to participate in the region's security force
- Recent photographs show demarcation zone further into Gaza than expected
On the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel would determine which foreign forces it would allow as part of a proposed multinational contingent in the region to help secure the ceasefire under the former president's initiative.
"We are in command of our safety, and we have also stated explicitly regarding foreign troops that we will determine which forces are unacceptable to us, and this is how we function and will continue to operate," he said talking at the beginning of a cabinet meeting.
On Friday, the American diplomat indicated "a lot of countries" had offered to be part of the contingent - but added Israeli authorities would have to be satisfied with those taking part.
This seemed like a allusion to Turkey, amid reports Israel had rejected the country's involvement.
It remained unclear, however, how such a force could be deployed without an understanding with the organization.
Israel initiated a military campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people and took 251 others as hostages.
No fewer than 68,519 have been lost their lives in Israeli attacks in Gaza from that time, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
