🔗 Share this article

Units from Egyptian authorities and the ICRC have been granted permission to search for the bodies of hostages who perished taken during the October 7th incidents, officials in Israel have confirmed.

The Israeli government announced that the crews have been allowed to search beyond the so-called "yellow line" in the area controlled by military personnel in the Gaza territory.

Hamas has handed over 15 out of twenty-eight hostages who lost their lives under the first phase of a American-mediated ceasefire deal, which mandates it to hand over all hostage bodies. The organization said it is now working together with officials in Egypt.

The former US president has warned the organization to begin returning the remains "promptly, or the other countries involved in this significant peace will take action".

An Israeli spokesperson said the Egyptian team has been authorized to work with the ICRC to locate the remains, and would use excavator machines and vehicles for the operation beyond the "demarcation line".

The "demarcation line" indicates the border running along the north, southern and east of the Gaza territory that Israeli forces withdrew to, as part of the initial phase of the truce agreement.

Previously, Israel has not authorized the access of these crews.

Egypt, along with Qatar and Turkish authorities, is a principal participant of the mediated by Trump peace initiative for Gaza, which was signed in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh earlier this month.

The news will be welcomed by family members, desperate to provide a dignified funeral.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has already been deeply engaged in the repatriation of captives.

Hamas does not hand over its captives - living or deceased - straight to the IDF, 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 24 months of intense bombardment by Israel, the United Nations calculates that as much as eighty-four percent of the territory has been destroyed completely.

Hamas claims it is doing its best to retrieve hostage bodies, 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 Egyptian authorities.

On Sunday, an Israeli government spokesperson stated that Hamas was aware of where the bodies were.

"If Hamas made more of an effort, they would be able to recover the remains of our captives," the spokesperson commented.

Trump posted on his social media account on the weekend that measures would be implemented if the remains of the hostages who died were not returned quickly.

"Some of the remains are difficult to access, but the rest they can return now and, for unknown reasons, they are not. Perhaps it has do with their disarming," he remarked.

Trump added: "Let's see what they accomplish over the next 48 hours. I am watching this with great attention."

• Palestinian children losing their lives as they await Israeli authorities to enable evacuations
• Rubio states many nations prepared to join the region's security force
• New images show Israeli control line further into Gaza than expected

On the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would determine which foreign forces it would permit as part of a proposed international force in the region to help secure 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 we will determine which units are not acceptable to us, and this is how we operate and will proceed," he said speaking at the start of a government session.

On Friday, the American diplomat indicated "a lot of countries" had offered to be part of the force - but added Israel would have to be comfortable with those taking part.

This seemed like a reference to Turkey, amid accounts Israeli officials had rejected the nation's involvement.

It remained unclear, however, how this contingent could be stationed without an agreement with the organization.

The Israeli military launched a military campaign in the territory in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which militants associated with the group killed about twelve hundred individuals and took two hundred fifty-one additional persons as hostages.

No fewer than 68,519 have been lost their lives in military actions in the region from that time, according to the area's health authorities under the group's control.