Egypt and the Red Cross have joined the search for bodies of hostages in Gaza

Teams from Egypt and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have been given permission to search for the bodies of deceased hostages taken during the October 7 attacks, Israeli officials confirmed.

The Israeli government said the teams were allowed to search beyond the so-called “yellow line” in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)-controlled area of ​​Gaza.

Separately on Sunday, Israeli media reported that Hamas members had also been given permission to enter the IS-controlled Gaza Strip to assist in the search, alongside ICRC teams.

Hamas handed over 15 of 28 dead Israeli hostages under the first phase of a US-brokered cease-fire deal that required it to hand over all hostage bodies. The group said it was now coordinating its actions with Egyptian authorities.

Donald Trump warned Hamas to start returning the bodies “quickly or the other countries involved in this great peace will take action.”

An Israeli spokesman said the Egyptian team had been authorized to work with the ICRC to locate the bodies and would use excavators and trucks to search beyond the “yellow line”.

“yellow line” marks the border running along the northern, southern and eastern parts of Gaza, to which Israel withdrew as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

So far, Israel has not approved the entry of such teams.

Egypt, along with Qatar and Turkey, is a key party to the agreement Trump-brokered Gaza peace planwhich was signed in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh earlier this month.

The news will be welcomed by relatives who are desperate to give them a proper burial.

The ICRC is already actively engaged in the return of hostages.

Hamas does not hand over its captives – dead or alive – directly to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), but rather to the ICRC, which in turn escorts them through Gaza and hands them over to the IDF.

But the arrival of Egyptian excavation teams in the Gaza Strip is something new.

After more than two years of intense bombing by Israel, the UN estimates that as much as 84% ​​of the territory has been reduced to rubble.

Hamas says it is doing its best to retrieve the bodies of the hostages, but is having difficulty finding them under the rubble of buildings bombed by the Israeli army in Gaza.

It is now coordinating with the Egyptian authorities.

On Sunday, an Israeli government spokesman said Hamas knew where the bodies were.

“If Hamas makes more efforts, they will be able to recover the remains of our hostages,” the spokesman said.

Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that action would be taken if the bodies of the deceased hostages were not returned quickly.

“Some of the bodies are hard to come by, but others could come back now, but for some reason they haven’t. Maybe it has to do with their disposal,” he said.

Trump added: “Let’s see what they do in the next 48 hours. I’m watching this very closely.”

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would determine which foreign forces it would admit as part of a planned international force in Gaza to help secure the truce under Trump’s plan.

“We are in control of our security and we have also made it clear in terms of international forces that Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us and that is how we operate and will continue to operate,” he said at the start of the cabinet meeting.

This was stated on Friday by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio “many countries” offered to be part of the force – but added that Israel should feel comfortable with the participants.

This appeared to be a reference to Turkey, amid reports that Israel had vetoed the country’s participation.

However, it remained unclear how such a force could be deployed without an understanding with Hamas.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023 attack in which Hamas-led gunmen killed around 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage.

At least 68,519 have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.