Egypt along with Red Cross Join Effort for Hostage Bodies in Gaza Strip

International equipment enters into the Gaza Strip
Egyptian equipment crosses into the Gaza Strip

Teams from Egypt and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been granted permission to locate the remains of deceased hostages captured during the 7 October attacks, officials in Israel have confirmed.

The authorities in Israel announced that the crews have been allowed to search beyond the referred to as "yellow line" in the area under the control of Israeli forces in Gaza.

The group has transferred fifteen out of 28 deceased Israeli hostages under the first phase of a US-brokered truce agreement, which requires it to hand over all hostage bodies. The organization stated it is now working together with Egyptian authorities.

The former US president has warned Hamas to start return the remains "quickly, or the other countries involved in this great peace will take action".

An Israeli spokesperson indicated the crew from Egypt has been authorized to work with the Red Cross to locate the bodies, and would use excavator machines and vehicles for the search beyond the "demarcation line".

The "demarcation line" indicates the border running along the north, southern and eastern of Gaza that Israeli forces withdrew to, as part of the first stage of the truce agreement.

Previously, Israel has not approved the entry of these crews.

The Egyptian government, along with Qatari officials and Turkish authorities, is a principal participant of the Trump-brokered Gaza peace plan, which was ratified in the coastal city of the resort town in recent weeks.

The development will be welcomed by family members, eager to provide a proper burial.

Captive circumstances in Gaza

The ICRC has already been heavily involved in the return of captives.

The organization does not hand over its captives - living or deceased - directly to the IDF, but instead to the Red Cross, which in turn escorts them through Gaza and hands them on to the IDF.

But the entry of Egyptian excavation teams inside the Gaza Strip is a recent development.

After more than two years of intense bombardment by Israeli forces, the United Nations calculates that as much as 84% of the territory has been destroyed completely.

Hamas claims it is making every effort to retrieve remains of captives, but it encounters challenges finding them under debris of buildings bombed out by the Israeli military in the region.

It is now coordinating with the Egyptian authorities.

On Sunday, an official representative stated that Hamas was aware of where the remains were.

"If Hamas put in greater work, they would be able to retrieve the remains of our captives," the spokesperson said.

Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that action would be taken if the remains of the hostages who died were not handed back quickly.

"Some of the remains are difficult to access, but the rest they can hand over at present and, for unknown reasons, they are not. Perhaps it has to do with their disarming," he said.

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

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On the weekend, the Israeli leader said Israel would determine which foreign forces it would permit as part of a planned multinational contingent in Gaza to help secure the ceasefire under the former president's initiative.

"We are in control of our security, and we have also made it clear regarding foreign troops that Israel will determine which units are not acceptable to us, and this is how we function and will proceed," he said talking at the start of a government session.

On the end of the week, the American diplomat said "numerous nations" had offered to be part of the contingent - but noted Israeli authorities would have to be comfortable with participants.

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

It was still uncertain, however, how such a force could be stationed without an agreement with Hamas.

Israel launched a armed operation in Gaza in response to the incidents of October 7th, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 individuals and took two hundred fifty-one others as hostages.

No fewer than 68,519 have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health authorities under the group's control.

Kimberly Turner
Kimberly Turner

A passionate blogger and competition enthusiast, sharing insights and updates on online events in Nepal.