🔗 Share this article

Teams from Egypt and the ICRC have been granted permission to search for the remains of hostages who perished captured during the October 7th incidents, Israeli authorities have verified.

The authorities in Israel announced that the crews have been permitted to search beyond the referred to as "demarcation line" in the area controlled by military personnel in the Gaza territory.

Hamas has transferred fifteen out of 28 deceased Israeli hostages under the first phase of a US-brokered ceasefire deal, which requires it to transfer all remains of captives. The organization stated it is now coordinating with officials in Egypt.

The former US president has warned the organization to begin returning the bodies "promptly, or the additional nations involved in this significant peace will intervene".

An Israeli spokesperson indicated the crew from Egypt has been authorized to collaborate with the Red Cross to locate the bodies, and would use digging equipment and trucks for the operation beyond the "yellow line".

The "yellow line" indicates the border running along the northern, south and east of Gaza that Israeli forces withdrew to, as part of the initial phase of the ceasefire deal.

Previously, Israeli authorities has not approved the entry of these crews.

The Egyptian government, along with Qatar and Turkish authorities, is a principal participant of the mediated by Trump peace initiative for Gaza, which was signed in the Egyptian resort of the resort town in recent weeks.

The news will be welcomed by family members, desperate to provide a proper burial.

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

The organization does not transfer its captives - alive or deceased - straight to the IDF, but instead to the ICRC, which in turn accompanies them through Gaza and transfers them to the Israeli military.

But the arrival of Egyptian excavation teams inside the Gaza territory is new.

After more than two years of heavy shelling by Israel, the United Nations estimates that as much as 84% of the territory has been destroyed completely.

Hamas claims it is making every effort to recover hostage bodies, but it encounters challenges finding them under debris of buildings bombed out by the Israeli military in Gaza.

It is now coordinating with the Egyptian authorities.

On the weekend, an Israeli government spokesperson said that the organization knew where the bodies were.

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

The former president shared on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that measures would be implemented if the remains of the hostages who died were not returned promptly.

"A portion of the remains are difficult to access, but the rest they can hand over now and, for some reason, they are not. Perhaps it has do with their demilitarization," he remarked.

He continued: "Let's see what they do over the coming two days. I am watching this with great attention."

• Gaza minors losing their lives as they wait for Israel to permit evacuations
• Rubio says lots of nations willing to participate in the region's peacekeeping unit
• Recent photographs show demarcation zone further into Gaza than expected

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel would decide which international troops it would permit as part of a planned international force in the region to help maintain the ceasefire under Trump's plan.

"We are in control of our security, and we have also stated explicitly regarding foreign troops that we will decide which units are not acceptable to us, and this is how we operate and will proceed," he said talking at the beginning of a government session.

On the end of the week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "a lot of countries" had offered to be involved in the force - but noted Israel would have to be comfortable with those taking part.

This seemed like a reference to the Turkish government, amid reports Israel had rejected the nation'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 following the incidents of October 7th, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about twelve hundred people and captured 251 others as captives.

At least 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.