Egypt along with Red Cross Join Effort for Captive Bodies in Gaza Strip
Teams 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, officials in Israel have verified.
The authorities in Israel stated that the teams have been permitted to operate beyond the referred to as "demarcation line" in the area controlled by military personnel in the Gaza territory.
The group has handed over 15 out of 28 hostages who lost their lives under the first phase of a American-mediated ceasefire deal, which requires it to hand over all hostage bodies. The organization said it is now coordinating with Egyptian authorities.
The former US president has warned the organization to begin returning the bodies "quickly, or the additional nations participating in this great peace will take action".
An Israeli spokesperson said the crew from Egypt has been permitted to collaborate with the Red Cross to locate the bodies, and would use digging equipment and vehicles for the search beyond the "demarcation line".
The "demarcation line" indicates the boundary running along the north, south and east of Gaza that Israeli forces pulled back to, as part of the first stage of the ceasefire deal.
Previously, Israel has not authorized the entry of such teams.
Egypt, along with Qatar and Turkey, is a key signatory of the mediated by Trump Gaza peace plan, which was signed in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in recent weeks.
The development will be welcomed by relatives, eager to give them a proper burial.
The ICRC has already been deeply engaged in the repatriation of captives.
The organization does not transfer its captives - living or deceased - directly to the IDF, but rather to the Red Cross, which in turn accompanies them through Gaza and hands them on to the Israeli military.
But the arrival of digging crews from Egypt inside the Gaza territory is new.
After more than 24 months of intense bombardment by Israeli forces, the United Nations calculates that as much as 84% of the area has been destroyed completely.
Hamas claims it is making every effort to retrieve hostage bodies, but it encounters challenges finding them under debris of structures bombed out by the Israeli military in Gaza.
It is now working in coordination with the Egyptian authorities.
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 remains of our captives," the representative commented.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that action would be taken if the remains of the deceased hostages were not handed back quickly.
"Some of the remains are hard to reach, but the rest they can return now and, for unknown reasons, they are not. Maybe it has to do with their demilitarization," he remarked.
He added: "Let's see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this with great attention."
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On Sunday, the Israeli leader announced Israel would determine which foreign forces it would allow as part of a planned multinational contingent in Gaza to help secure the truce under Trump's plan.
"We are in command of our safety, and we have also made it clear regarding foreign troops that Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us, and this is how we function and will continue to operate," he said speaking at the beginning of a government session.
On the end of the week, the American diplomat indicated "numerous countries" had volunteered to be involved in the force - but added Israeli authorities would have to be satisfied with those taking part.
This appeared to be a allusion to the Turkish government, amid reports Israel had rejected the nation's involvement.
It remained unclear, however, how this contingent could be stationed without an understanding with Hamas.
Israel initiated a armed operation in the territory in following the incidents of October 7th, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people and took 251 additional persons as captives.
At least 68,519 have been lost their lives in Israeli attacks in the region from that time, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
