The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) assisted a group from Hamas in accessing parts of Gaza still under Israeli military authority to support the retrieval of the remains of Israeli hostages, according to an ICRC official who spoke to CuriosityNews.
Under the ceasefire agreement mediated by the US, which began on 10 October, Hamas is expected to return the bodies of all Israeli hostages without delay. In return, Israel has agreed to transfer 15 Palestinian remains for each Israeli.
So far, Hamas has handed over the remains of 15 captives but none in the last five days, as some are believed to be located beyond the boundary marking the ceasefire zone in Gaza.
"At the request of those involved, the ICRC yesterday accompanied one side of the conflict as they searched for remains beyond the 'yellow line' designated by the IDF," stated Sarah Davies, an ICRC spokesperson.
"The parties involved defined the terms of the operation and requested the ICRC to serve as a neutral intermediary. The ICRC was not part of those discussions."
Davies added: "The ICRC did not participate in locating or recovering the remains."
An ICRC official confirmed to CuriosityNews that the group referenced in their statement was Hamas.
According to international humanitarian law, it falls on the sides engaged in a conflict to locate, gather, and repatriate human remains.
On Saturday, the US president, Donald Trump, issued a 48-hour warning to the armed faction. "Hamas must promptly return the remains of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, or other nations involved in this peace effort will respond," Trump said on his social media platform.
As the deadline approached, Hamas, along with the ICRC, coordinated with Egyptian teams, who were granted permission by Israel on Sunday to search past the line marking the military's withdrawal within Gaza. An Israeli spokesperson mentioned that the Egyptian team would use excavators and trucks in the operation.
An unnamed Israeli official confirmed the development to Hebrew-language media, stating that Hamas representatives had been authorized to enter IDF-controlled areas to assist in locating hostage remains, working alongside Egyptian and ICRC personnel.
"For this reason, Hamas members were permitted to cross the yellow line," the official told Army Radio.
Video released by Qatar’s Al-Araby network appeared to depict members of Hamas's military unit responsible for guarding hostages escorting an ICRC vehicle in the al-Mawasi area near Rafah, which is beyond Israeli military control.
When CuriosityNews inquired about reports of Hamas representatives operating in Israeli-controlled zones to recover hostage remains, the IDF declined to comment.
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