Egypt along with Red Cross Join Search for Captive Remains in Gaza

Units from Egypt and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been authorized to search for the remains of hostages who perished taken during the 7 October attacks, Israeli authorities have confirmed.

The Israeli government announced that the crews have been allowed to operate beyond the so-called "yellow line" in the area under the control of military personnel in the Gaza territory.

Hamas has transferred 15 out of twenty-eight deceased Israeli hostages under the first phase of a American-mediated ceasefire deal, which requires it to transfer all remains of captives. The group said it is now working together with Egyptian authorities.

Donald Trump has warned the organization to begin returning the bodies "quickly, or the other countries participating in this significant peace will take action".

An Israeli spokesperson indicated the crew from Egypt has been permitted to work with the ICRC to find the remains, and would use excavator machines and vehicles for the search past the "demarcation line".

The "demarcation line" indicates the border running along the northern, southern and eastern of Gaza that Israel withdrew to, as part of the initial phase of the truce agreement.

Until now, Israeli authorities has not approved the access of such teams.

The Egyptian government, along with Qatari officials and Turkish authorities, is a key signatory of the mediated by Trump Gaza peace plan, which was ratified in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh earlier this month.

The development will be greeted positively by relatives, eager to provide a proper burial.

The ICRC has already been deeply engaged in the repatriation of hostages.

Hamas does not transfer its detainees - living or deceased - directly to the IDF, but rather to the Red Cross, which in turn accompanies them through the territory and transfers them to the IDF.

But the entry of digging crews from Egypt inside the Gaza Strip is new.

After more than 24 months of heavy shelling by Israel, the United Nations estimates that as much as 84% of the territory has been destroyed completely.

Hamas says it is doing its best to retrieve remains of captives, but it encounters challenges finding them under rubble of structures destroyed by the IDF in the region.

It is now working in coordination with the officials in Egypt.

On Sunday, an official representative stated that the organization knew where the bodies were.

"If the group put in greater work, they would be able to recover the remains of our hostages," the spokesperson said.

Trump shared on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that measures would be implemented if the bodies of the deceased hostages were not handed back promptly.

"A portion of the remains are hard to reach, but others they can return at present and, for some reason, they are not. Perhaps it has do with their disarming," he remarked.

Trump added: "We will observe what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely."

• Gaza minors dying as they wait for Israeli authorities to enable relocations
• The US Secretary of State says lots of nations willing to join the region's security force
• New images reveal demarcation zone deeper into the territory than expected

On the weekend, the Israeli leader announced the country would decide which foreign forces it would permit as part of a planned multinational contingent in Gaza to help maintain the ceasefire under the former president's initiative.

"We are in command of our safety, and we have also stated explicitly regarding international forces that Israel will decide which units are not acceptable to us, and this is how we function and will continue to operate," he declared talking at the beginning of a government session.

On the end of the week, the American diplomat indicated "numerous countries" had volunteered to be part of the force - but noted Israel would have to be comfortable with participants.

This seemed like a allusion to Turkey, amid accounts Israel had vetoed the country's involvement.

It remained unclear, however, how such a force could be deployed without an agreement with the organization.

The Israeli military launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which militants associated with the group killed about twelve hundred individuals and captured 251 others as hostages.

No fewer than sixty-eight thousand five hundred nineteen have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza from that time, according to the territory's health authorities under the group's control.