Egyptian authorities and International Committee of the Red Cross Join Search for Hostage Bodies in Gaza Strip
Units from Egypt and the International Committee of the Red Cross 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 beyond the referred to as "yellow line" in the area controlled by military personnel in the Gaza territory.
Hamas has handed over 15 out of 28 deceased Israeli hostages under the first phase of a American-mediated truce agreement, which requires it to hand over all remains of captives. The organization said it is now coordinating with Egyptian authorities.
The former US president has cautions Hamas to start return the remains "promptly, or the additional nations involved in this significant peace will intervene".
An Israeli spokesperson indicated the crew from Egypt has been authorized to collaborate with the Red Cross to find the bodies, and would use digging equipment and vehicles for the operation beyond the "demarcation line".
The "demarcation line" marks the border running along the north, south and eastern of Gaza that Israel withdrew to, as part of the first stage of the truce agreement.
Until now, Israeli authorities has not approved the entry of such teams.
The Egyptian government, along with Qatari officials and Turkey, is a principal participant of the mediated by Trump Gaza peace plan, which was ratified in the coastal city of the resort town earlier this month.
The news will be welcomed by relatives, eager to give them a dignified funeral.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has already been heavily involved in the repatriation of captives.
Hamas does not hand over its detainees - alive or deceased - directly to the Israel Defense Forces, but instead to the ICRC, which in turn accompanies them through the territory and hands them on to the Israeli military.
But the entry of Egyptian excavation teams inside the Gaza territory is a recent development.
After more than two years of intense bombardment by Israeli forces, the United Nations estimates that as much as 84% of the area has been reduced to rubble.
The group claims it is doing its best to retrieve hostage bodies, but it encounters challenges locating them under rubble of buildings destroyed by the Israeli military in the region.
It is now working in coordination with the officials in Egypt.
On the weekend, an Israeli government spokesperson stated that Hamas knew where the remains were.
"If Hamas put in greater work, they would be able to retrieve the bodies of our captives," the spokesperson commented.
The former president shared on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that measures would be implemented if the remains of the hostages who died were not returned quickly.
"A portion of the remains are difficult to access, but the rest they can return at present and, for unknown reasons, they are not. Maybe it has do with their disarming," he remarked.
Trump continued: "We will observe what they do over the next 48 hours. I am monitoring the situation very closely."
- Palestinian children losing their lives as they wait for Israeli authorities to permit evacuations
- The US Secretary of State says lots of countries prepared to join the region's security force
- Recent photographs reveal demarcation zone further into the territory than expected
On the weekend, the Israeli leader announced the country would decide which international troops it would permit as part of a proposed international force in the region to help maintain the truce under the former president's initiative.
"We are in command of our safety, and we have also made it clear regarding foreign troops that we will determine which units are not acceptable to us, and this is how we function and will proceed," he said speaking at the beginning of a cabinet meeting.
On the end of the week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated "numerous nations" had volunteered to be part of the contingent - but noted Israeli authorities would have to be satisfied with those taking part.
This appeared to be a allusion to Turkey, amid reports Israel had vetoed the country's participation.
It was still uncertain, however, how this contingent could be deployed without an agreement with Hamas.
Israel initiated a armed operation in Gaza in following the incidents of October 7th, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 individuals and took two hundred fifty-one additional persons as captives.
No fewer than 68,519 have been lost their lives in Israeli attacks in Gaza from that time, according to the area's Hamas-run health ministry.