Egypt and International Committee of the Red Cross Participate in Search for Hostage Bodies in Gaza

Egyptian machinery enters into the Gaza Strip
Egyptian equipment crosses into the Gaza territory

Teams from Egypt and the ICRC have been authorized to search for the bodies of deceased hostages captured during the October 7th incidents, Israeli authorities have confirmed.

The Israeli government stated that the crews have been permitted 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 fifteen out of 28 hostages who lost their lives under the first phase of a American-mediated ceasefire deal, which mandates it to hand over all remains of captives. The group stated it is now coordinating with Egyptian authorities.

Donald Trump has cautions the organization to begin returning the bodies "quickly, or the other countries involved in this great peace will take action".

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

The "yellow line" marks the boundary running along the northern, south and east of the Gaza territory that Israeli forces pulled back to, as part of the first stage of the truce agreement.

Previously, Israeli authorities has not authorized the access of such teams.

Egypt, along with Qatar and Turkish authorities, is a key signatory of the mediated by Trump Gaza peace plan, which was ratified in the coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh earlier this month.

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

Captive situation in the region

The International Committee of the Red Cross has already been heavily involved in the return 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 escorts them through Gaza and transfers them to the Israeli military.

But the entry of Egyptian excavation teams inside the Gaza Strip is new.

After more than 24 months of intense bombardment by Israel, the UN calculates that as much as eighty-four percent of the territory has been reduced to rubble.

The group says it is doing its best to retrieve remains of captives, but it faces difficulty locating them under rubble of structures bombed out by the IDF in Gaza.

It is now coordinating with the Egyptian authorities.

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

"If the group put in greater work, they would be able to recover the bodies of our captives," the spokesperson said.

The former president posted on his social media account on the weekend that measures would be taken if the remains of the deceased hostages were not returned quickly.

"A portion of the bodies are difficult to access, but the rest they can return now and, for unknown reasons, they are not. Perhaps it has to do with their demilitarization," he said.

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

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On Sunday, the Israeli leader said Israel would decide which international troops it would allow as part of a proposed international force in Gaza to help secure the ceasefire under Trump's plan.

"We are in command of our safety, and we have also made it clear regarding international forces that we will decide which units are not acceptable to us, and this is how we operate and will continue to operate," he declared speaking at the start of a government session.

On Friday, the American diplomat said "a lot of nations" had offered to be part of the force - but noted Israeli authorities would have to be satisfied with those taking part.

This appeared to be a reference to Turkey, amid accounts Israeli officials had vetoed the nation's involvement.

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

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in following the incidents of October 7th, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people and took 251 additional persons as hostages.

At least sixty-eight thousand five hundred nineteen have been killed in military actions in the region from that time, according to the area's health authorities under the group's control.

Mark Johnson
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