Egypt along with International Committee of the Red Cross Join Search for Hostage Bodies in Gaza Strip
Teams from Egyptian authorities and the ICRC have been authorized to locate the bodies of deceased hostages captured during the 7 October attacks, officials in Israel have confirmed.
The Israeli government announced that the teams have been allowed to search beyond the referred to as "yellow line" in the area under the control of military personnel in Gaza.
The group has handed over 15 out of 28 deceased Israeli hostages under the initial stage of a American-mediated ceasefire deal, which mandates it to transfer all hostage bodies. The group said it is now working together with officials in Egypt.
Donald Trump has cautions Hamas to begin returning the remains "quickly, or the additional nations participating in this significant peace will intervene".
An official representative indicated the Egyptian team has been authorized to collaborate with the ICRC to find the bodies, and would use digging equipment and trucks for the search past the "demarcation line".
The "demarcation line" marks the boundary running along the north, southern and east of the Gaza territory that Israeli forces withdrew to, as part of the initial phase of the ceasefire deal.
Previously, Israel has not authorized the entry of these crews.
Egypt, along with Qatar and Turkey, is a key signatory of the Trump-brokered peace initiative for Gaza, which was ratified in the coastal city of the resort town in recent weeks.
The news will be welcomed by relatives, eager to provide a proper burial.
The ICRC has already been heavily involved in the repatriation of hostages.
Hamas does not hand over its captives - living or deceased - straight 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 Strip is new.
After more than 24 months of intense bombardment by Israel, the UN estimates that as much as 84% of the territory has been reduced to rubble.
The group claims it is making every effort to recover hostage bodies, but it faces difficulty finding them under rubble of structures bombed out by the Israeli military in Gaza.
It is now coordinating with the officials in Egypt.
On the weekend, an Israeli government spokesperson said that the organization was aware of where the remains were.
"If Hamas made more of an effort, they would be able to recover the bodies 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 handed back promptly.
"Some of the remains are difficult to access, but the rest they can hand over now and, for unknown reasons, they are not. Perhaps it has to do with their disarming," he said.
He continued: "Let's see what they do over the coming two days. I am watching this with great attention."
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On Sunday, the Israeli leader announced the country would decide which foreign forces it would allow as part of a proposed international force in Gaza to help maintain the ceasefire under Trump's plan.
"We are in command of our security, and we have also stated explicitly regarding foreign troops that Israel will determine which forces are not acceptable to us, and this is how we operate and will continue to operate," he declared talking at the start of a cabinet meeting.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated "numerous nations" had offered to be involved in the force - but noted Israel would have to be satisfied with those taking part.
This seemed like a allusion to Turkey, amid reports Israeli officials had rejected the country's participation.
It remained unclear, however, how such a force could be stationed without an understanding with Hamas.
Israel initiated a armed operation in the territory in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about twelve hundred individuals and captured two hundred fifty-one additional persons as hostages.
At least 68,519 have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the area's Hamas-run health ministry.