Egyptian authorities and Red Cross Join Effort for Hostage Remains in Gaza
Units from Egypt and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been authorized to search for the remains of deceased hostages taken during the October 7th incidents, Israeli authorities have verified.
The authorities in Israel stated that the teams have been allowed to operate past the so-called "yellow line" in the area under the control of military personnel in the Gaza territory.
Hamas has handed over 15 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 group stated it is now coordinating with Egyptian authorities.
Donald Trump has cautions the organization to begin returning the bodies "promptly, or the additional nations involved in this significant peace will take action".
An Israeli spokesperson said the Egyptian team has been permitted to collaborate with the Red Cross to locate the bodies, and would use digging equipment and trucks for the operation past the "demarcation line".
The "demarcation line" marks the boundary running along the northern, southern and east of Gaza that Israel pulled back to, as part of the first stage of the truce agreement.
Until now, Israel has not authorized the entry of these crews.
The Egyptian government, along with Qatari officials and Turkey, is a key signatory of the mediated by Trump peace initiative for Gaza, which was signed in the coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh in recent weeks.
The news will be welcomed by family members, desperate to give them a proper burial.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has already been heavily involved in the return of captives.
Hamas does not transfer its captives - alive or deceased - directly to the Israel Defense Forces, but instead to the ICRC, which in turn escorts them through the territory and transfers them to the Israeli military.
But the entry of digging crews from Egypt inside the Gaza territory is new.
After more than 24 months of intense bombardment by Israel, the UN estimates that as much as eighty-four percent of the area has been destroyed completely.
The group claims it is making every effort to recover remains of captives, but it encounters challenges finding them under rubble of structures bombed out by the Israeli military in the region.
It is now working in coordination with the Egyptian authorities.
On the weekend, an official representative said that the organization knew where the bodies were.
"If the group made more of an effort, they would be able to recover the bodies of our hostages," the spokesperson commented.
Trump posted on his social media account on the weekend that measures would be implemented if the bodies of the deceased hostages were not returned quickly.
"A portion of the bodies are difficult to access, but the rest they can hand over now and, for unknown reasons, they are not. Maybe it has do with their disarming," he remarked.
He added: "Let's see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely."
- Palestinian children dying as they wait for Israel to permit evacuations
- The US Secretary of State says lots of countries prepared to join the region's security force
- New images reveal demarcation zone deeper into Gaza than expected
On Sunday, the Israeli leader announced Israel would determine which foreign forces it would permit as part of a planned international force in the region to help secure the ceasefire under Trump's plan.
"We are in control of our security, and we have also stated explicitly regarding foreign troops that we will determine which units are unacceptable to us, and this is how we function and will continue to operate," he declared speaking at the beginning of a cabinet meeting.
On the end of the week, the American diplomat indicated "numerous nations" had offered to be part of the force - but added 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 deployed without an understanding with Hamas.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in following the 7 October 2023 attack, in which militants associated with the group killed about 1,200 individuals and took two hundred fifty-one additional persons as captives.
At least sixty-eight thousand five hundred nineteen have been killed in military actions in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.