Egyptian authorities and International Committee of the Red Cross Participate in Effort for Captive Bodies in Gaza
Units from Egyptian authorities and the ICRC have been authorized to search for the bodies of deceased hostages taken during the October 7th incidents, Israeli authorities have confirmed.
The authorities in Israel stated that the teams have been permitted to operate past the so-called "yellow line" in the region controlled by military personnel in the Gaza territory.
The group has transferred fifteen out of 28 hostages who lost their lives under the first phase of a American-mediated ceasefire deal, which requires it to transfer all remains of captives. The organization said it is now coordinating with Egyptian authorities.
Donald Trump has cautions Hamas to start return the bodies "quickly, or the other countries involved in this significant peace will take action".
An official representative indicated the crew from Egypt has been permitted to collaborate with the ICRC to locate the remains, and would use excavator machines and vehicles for the search beyond the "yellow line".
The "yellow line" indicates the border running along the northern, southern and eastern of Gaza that Israel withdrew to, as part of the first stage of the truce agreement.
Previously, Israeli authorities has not authorized the entry of such teams.
The Egyptian government, along with Qatari officials and Turkey, is a key signatory of the Trump-brokered Gaza peace plan, which was ratified in the coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh earlier this month.
The news will be welcomed by family members, eager to provide a dignified funeral.
The ICRC has already been heavily involved in the repatriation of hostages.
Hamas does not hand over its captives - living or deceased - directly to the Israel Defense Forces, but rather to the ICRC, which in turn escorts them through Gaza and hands them on to the Israeli military.
But the arrival of digging crews from Egypt inside the Gaza Strip is a recent development.
After more than two years of intense bombardment by Israeli forces, the UN estimates that as much as 84% of the area has been destroyed completely.
The group says it is making every effort to recover hostage bodies, but it faces difficulty finding them under debris of buildings destroyed by the Israeli military in the region.
It is now coordinating with the officials in Egypt.
On the weekend, an official representative stated that the organization knew where the bodies were.
"If Hamas put in greater work, they would be able to recover the bodies of our hostages," the spokesperson said.
The former president shared on his social media account on Saturday that measures would be taken if the remains of the hostages who died were not handed back promptly.
"A portion of the bodies are difficult to access, but others they can return now and, for unknown reasons, they are not. Maybe it has do with their demilitarization," he remarked.
He continued: "We will observe what they accomplish over the next 48 hours. I am monitoring the situation with great attention."
- Gaza minors losing their lives as they wait for Israeli authorities to enable relocations
- The US Secretary of State states many nations prepared to participate in the region's peacekeeping unit
- New images reveal Israeli control line deeper into the territory than anticipated
On the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel would determine which foreign forces it would permit as part of a planned international force in the region to help maintain the truce under Trump's plan.
"We are in command of our security, and we have also stated explicitly regarding international forces that we will determine which units are unacceptable to us, and this is how we operate and will proceed," he declared talking at the start of a government session.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated "a lot of countries" had volunteered to be part of the contingent - but noted Israel would have to be satisfied with those taking part.
This appeared to be a reference to Turkey, amid reports Israel had vetoed the country's involvement.
It remained unclear, however, how such a force could be stationed without an agreement with Hamas.
The Israeli military launched a armed operation in the territory in following the incidents of October 7th, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about twelve hundred individuals and captured two hundred fifty-one additional persons as captives.
At least sixty-eight thousand five hundred nineteen have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the area's Hamas-run health ministry.