Hamas returns remains of Israeli hostage after Red Cross’s help in search | Hamas

The International Committee of the Red Cross escorted Hamas members into areas of Gaza still under Israeli army control to facilitate the search for the bodies of Israeli hostages, while the Palestinian militant group handed over the remains of another captive.

Under a US-brokered ceasefire that took effect on October 10, Hamas must return the remains of all Israeli hostages as soon as possible. In return, Israel agreed to hand over 15 Palestinian bodies for every Israeli.

Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said on Monday that it would hand over the body of a deceased hostage at 21:00 local time, Reuters reported. Israeli media confirmed that the IDF was working with the Red Cross to retrieve the remains in the evening.

Hamas has so far returned the remains of 15 people held captive, but some others are believed to be in areas beyond the yellow line marking Israel’s withdrawal. If the identity of the deceased hostage handed over on Monday is confirmed, it would mean that the remains of 12 hostages remain in Gaza. Hamas says it has encountered obstacles in locating these men in the rubble left by the bombardment.

“At the request of the parties, the International Committee of the Red Cross yesterday accompanied a party to the conflict as it searched for the remains of the deceased beyond the ‘yellow line’ designated by the IDF,” ICRC spokeswoman Sarah Davies said.

“The parties to the conflict determined the methods of the operation and appointed the ICRC to act as a neutral intermediary. The ICRC did not participate in these negotiations.”

Davies added: “The ICRC was not involved in the search for the deceased and was not involved in the physical recovery of the remains.” A Red Cross official confirmed that the party named in the statement was Hamas.

Under international humanitarian law, it is the responsibility of parties involved in the conflict to search for, collect and return human remains.

On Saturday, Donald Trump gave the militant group a 48-hour ultimatum. “Hamas will have to quickly begin returning the bodies of the dead hostages, including two Americans, or other countries involved in this great peace will take action,” Trump wrote on the social media platform.

As the 48-hour deadline approached, Hamas, accompanied by the ICRC, joined Egyptian teams authorized by Israel to search for ruins beyond the line marking the Israeli army’s withdrawal to Gaza. An Israeli spokesman said the Egyptian team would use excavator machines and trucks in the search.

Footage released by Qatar’s Al Araby network showed members of Hamas’s “Shadow Unit” – part of the group’s military wing tasked with protecting hostages – escorting a Red Cross vehicle in Al Mawasi, near Rafah, which is outside Israeli military control. The news was later confirmed by Israeli and Palestinian media.

Israeli government spokesman Shosh Bedrosyan said the Red Cross and Egyptian technical staff, as well as Hamas representatives, were “allowed to enter beyond the yellow line in Gaza under close supervision.” [Israeli army] “We are carrying out inspections to determine the location of our hostages.”

Felesteen, described by Israel as the “Hamas newspaper”, the largest source of news circulating in Gaza before the war, said on Monday: “Members of the Qassam brigades accompanied International Committee of the Red Cross teams during field visits to areas beyond the yellow line in the Gaza Strip and the city of Rafah to inspect locations where the bodies of Israeli soldiers and prisoners are believed to be located.”

The search for the bodies of Israeli hostages has become one of the most sensitive issues of the ceasefire. The effort to find the remains has been difficult, given the presence of an estimated 60 million tons of debris in the strip, where at least 10,000 Palestinians buried under the rubble have been recorded as missing, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Hamas claimed it did not know the exact whereabouts of all the bodies and said it had lost contact with some of its units holding the prisoners and who were reportedly killed during Israeli bombardments.

But on Sunday an Israeli government spokesman claimed Hamas knew the location of the bodies. “If Hamas makes more efforts, they can take the remains of our hostages,” the spokesman said.

Although Trump acknowledged that some bodies were difficult to reach, he said “some of them may now be able to return, but for some reason they may not be able to return.” “This may have something to do with the disarmament of Hamas,” he added.

Washington said it had received assurances from Hamas that the group would be disarmed, but no timetable had been set. The militant organization remains reluctant to surrender its weapons without firm guarantees about the future of its fighters.

Israel has set the disarmament of Hamas as its main goal and described it as the main condition for ending the two-year war.

But on Sunday, Hamas’ chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya insisted that the group’s weapons “depend on the existence of occupation and aggression.” “If the occupation ends, these weapons will be handed over to the state,” he said. It is not yet clear whether he is referring to the yet-to-be-formed Palestinian governing authority that is expected to take over Gaza if Hamas cedes control.

Another important element in strengthening the ceasefire will be the creation of a stabilization force that will operate within the region. Türkiye’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose diplomats were involved in the ceasefire talks, expressed his government’s desire to join this force.

However, on Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said only countries that treat Israel “at least fairly” could send troops for Gaza’s security and rejected Türkiye’s involvement. Erdogan said, “For the past 4 years and even before, Erdogan has taken a hostile approach towards Israel. It does not make sense for us to allow its armed forces to enter.” [the] Gaza Strip.”