🔗 Share this article Egypt and Red Cross Participate in Search for Hostage Bodies in Gaza Strip International equipment enters into the Gaza Strip Units from Egyptian authorities and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been authorized to search for the remains of hostages who perished captured during the October 7th incidents, Israeli authorities have confirmed. The Israeli government stated that the teams have been allowed to operate past the referred to as "demarcation line" in the area controlled by Israeli forces in Gaza. Hamas has transferred 15 out of twenty-eight deceased Israeli hostages under the first phase of a US-brokered truce agreement, which requires it to transfer all hostage bodies. The organization stated it is now coordinating with Egyptian authorities. The former US president has cautions the organization to begin returning the bodies "promptly, or the other countries involved in this significant peace will intervene". An official representative indicated the Egyptian team has been permitted to work with the ICRC to locate the bodies, and would use digging equipment and trucks for the search beyond the "yellow line". The "yellow line" indicates the border running along the north, south and eastern of the Gaza territory that Israel pulled back to, as part of the first stage of the ceasefire deal. Until now, Israel has not authorized the entry of such teams. The Egyptian government, along with Qatar and Turkish authorities, is a key signatory of the mediated by Trump Gaza peace plan, which was signed in the Egyptian resort of the resort town earlier this month. The development will be welcomed by family members, desperate to provide a proper burial. The ICRC has already been deeply engaged in the return of hostages. The organization does not transfer its captives - living or deceased - straight to the Israel Defense Forces, but instead to the Red Cross, which in turn accompanies them through the territory 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 UN calculates that as much as eighty-four percent of the area has been reduced to rubble. Hamas claims it is making every effort to retrieve hostage bodies, but it encounters challenges locating them under debris of structures bombed out by the Israeli military in Gaza. It is now coordinating with the officials in Egypt. On the weekend, an official representative stated that Hamas knew where the remains were. "If the group put in greater work, they would be able to recover the remains of our captives," the spokesperson commented. The former president shared on his social media account on the weekend that measures would be implemented if the bodies of the hostages who died were not returned quickly. "Some of the remains are difficult to access, but others they can return at present and, for unknown reasons, they are not. Perhaps it has do with their disarming," he remarked. Trump added: "We will observe what they do over the next 48 hours. I am monitoring the situation with great attention." Gaza children losing their lives as they wait for Israel to permit relocations The US Secretary of State says many countries prepared to join Gaza security force Recent photographs reveal demarcation zone deeper into the territory than anticipated On the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would determine which international troops it would permit as part of a proposed multinational contingent in the region to help secure the ceasefire under Trump's plan. "We are in control of our safety, and we have also made it clear regarding international forces that Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us, and this is how we operate and will continue to operate," he said speaking at the start of a government session. On the end of the week, the American diplomat indicated "numerous nations" had offered to be part of the force - but added Israel would have to be satisfied with those taking part. This appeared to be a allusion to Turkey, amid reports Israel had vetoed the nation's involvement. It was still uncertain, however, how this contingent could be stationed without an agreement with the organization. Israel initiated a military campaign in Gaza in following the 7 October 2023 attack, in which militants associated with the group took the lives of about 1,200 individuals and took two hundred fifty-one others as hostages. At least sixty-eight thousand five hundred nineteen have been lost their lives in military actions in Gaza since then, according to the area's health authorities under the group's control.