🔗 Share this article

Units from Egyptian authorities and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been authorized to locate the remains of hostages who perished taken during the October 7th incidents, officials in Israel have confirmed.

The authorities in Israel announced that the teams have been permitted to search beyond the so-called "yellow line" in the area under the control of Israeli forces in the Gaza territory.

Hamas has handed over fifteen out of twenty-eight hostages who lost their lives under the initial stage of a American-mediated ceasefire deal, which mandates it to transfer all remains of captives. The organization said it is now working together with officials in Egypt.

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

An Israeli spokesperson said the crew from Egypt has been authorized to work with the Red Cross to locate the remains, 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 withdrew to, as part of the initial phase of the ceasefire deal.

Until now, Israel has not authorized the access of these crews.

Egypt, along with Qatar and Turkish authorities, is a key signatory of the mediated by Trump peace initiative for Gaza, which was signed in the coastal city of the resort town in recent weeks.

The development will be welcomed by relatives, desperate to give them a dignified funeral.

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

The organization does not hand over its detainees - alive or deceased - directly to the IDF, but rather to the Red Cross, which in turn accompanies them through Gaza and transfers them to the IDF.

But the arrival 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 eighty-four percent of the area has been destroyed completely.

The group claims it is making every effort to recover hostage bodies, but it faces difficulty locating them under rubble of structures bombed out by the IDF in Gaza.

It is now working in coordination with the Egyptian authorities.

On the weekend, an Israeli government spokesperson stated that the organization knew where the remains were.

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

Trump shared on his Truth Social platform on the weekend that action would be taken if the bodies of the deceased hostages were not returned promptly.

"Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but the rest they can return at present and, for unknown reasons, they are not. Maybe it has to do with their demilitarization," he said.

Trump continued: "Let's see what they do over the coming two days. I am watching this very closely."

• Gaza minors losing their lives as they wait for Israel to enable evacuations
• Rubio states lots of countries willing to participate in Gaza security force
• New images reveal demarcation zone further into the territory than expected

On the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would decide which foreign forces it would permit as part of a proposed multinational contingent in Gaza to help secure the ceasefire under Trump's plan.

"We are in control of our safety, and we have also made it clear regarding foreign troops that we will determine which forces are not acceptable to us, and this is how we function and will proceed," he declared speaking at the beginning of a government session.

On Friday, the American diplomat said "numerous nations" had volunteered to be involved in the force - but added Israeli authorities would have to be satisfied with those taking part.

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

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

Israel launched a military campaign in the territory in following the incidents of October 7th, in which Hamas-led gunmen took the lives of about twelve hundred people and captured 251 others as captives.

At least 68,519 have been killed in military actions in Gaza from that time, according to the area's health authorities under the group's control.