Egypt and International Committee of the Red Cross Join Search for Hostage Remains in Gaza Strip

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

Units from Egyptian authorities and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been granted permission to search for the bodies of hostages who perished taken during the 7 October attacks, Israeli authorities have verified.

The authorities in Israel announced that the crews have been allowed to search past the so-called "yellow line" in the area under the control of military personnel in Gaza.

The group has handed over 15 out of 28 hostages who lost their lives under the first phase of a US-brokered ceasefire deal, which mandates it to hand over all remains of captives. The group said it is now coordinating with Egyptian authorities.

Donald Trump has warned Hamas to start return the remains "quickly, or the additional nations involved in this great peace will intervene".

An official representative said the crew from Egypt has been authorized to collaborate with the ICRC to find the remains, and would use digging equipment and trucks for the search past the "yellow line".

The "yellow line" marks the border running along the northern, southern and east of the Gaza territory that Israel pulled back to, as part of the initial phase of the truce agreement.

Previously, Israel has not approved the entry of such teams.

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

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

Hostage situation in Gaza

The International Committee of the Red Cross has already been heavily involved in the repatriation of hostages.

The organization does not transfer its detainees - alive or deceased - straight to the Israel Defense Forces, but rather to the Red Cross, which in turn escorts them through the territory and transfers them to the Israeli military.

But the entry of digging crews from Egypt inside the Gaza territory is a recent development.

After more than two years of heavy shelling by Israeli forces, the United Nations estimates that as much as 84% of the area has been reduced to rubble.

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

It is now coordinating with the Egyptian authorities.

On the weekend, an official representative said that Hamas was aware of where the bodies were.

"If the group put in greater work, they would be able to retrieve the bodies of our hostages," the representative said.

The former president shared on his social media account on the weekend that measures would be implemented if the remains of the deceased hostages were not handed back promptly.

"Some of the bodies are difficult to access, but the rest they can hand over at present and, for some reason, they are not. Maybe it has do with their disarming," he remarked.

Trump added: "Let's see what they do over the coming two days. I am monitoring the situation very closely."

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On the weekend, the Israeli leader announced the country would decide which international troops it would allow as part of a planned international force in Gaza to help maintain the truce under Trump's plan.

"We are in command of our security, 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 talking at the start of a cabinet meeting.

On Friday, the American diplomat said "a lot of nations" had volunteered to be involved in the contingent - but noted Israel would have to be satisfied with those taking part.

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

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 following the incidents of October 7th, in which militants associated with the group took the lives of about 1,200 people and captured two hundred fifty-one others as captives.

No fewer than sixty-eight thousand five hundred nineteen have been lost their lives in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Gary Moore
Gary Moore

A dedicated mindfulness coach and writer with over a decade of experience in guiding others toward holistic well-being.