International Committee of the Red Cross Accompanies Hamas in Search for Remains of Israeli Hostages in Gaza

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stated that its personnel accompanied members of Hamas into zones of the Gaza Strip still under IDF control to support the search for the remains of individuals held captive.

Truce Agreements and Captive Bodies Handover

As part of the US-brokered ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, the group is required to return the remains of all captives promptly. As a reciprocal measure, Israel has agreed to hand over 15 Palestinian bodies for every Israeli body returned.

The organization has so far returned the bodies of fifteen of those taken hostage but none in the past five days, as some of those bodies are believed to be in locations past the yellow line marking the temporary truce line.

ICRC Involvement as Neutral Intermediary

“Upon the appeal of the involved sides, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) joined a party to the conflict as the party looked for the remains of the deceased beyond the military-established ‘yellow line’,” said a representative for the organization.

The spokesperson continued: “The parties to the conflict determined the procedures of the operation and entrusted the Red Cross to serve as a impartial mediator. We was not involved in the discussions.”

She further clarified: “Our team was did not participate in the search for the deceased nor does it take part in the retrieval of human remains.”

Global Humanitarian Law and Duties

According to international humanitarian law, it is the duty of the parties involved in a hostilities to search for, gather, and recover the bodies of the deceased.

US Demand and Regional Search Efforts

On Saturday, the American leader delivered a 48-hour demand to the militant group. “Hamas is going to have to begin returning the bodies of the hostages who died, including two Americans, promptly, or the other countries involved in this significant truce will intervene,” he posted on his online channel.

When the two-day window approached, Hamas, accompanied by the ICRC, joined Egyptian teams, who were granted permission by Israeli authorities to look for remains past the boundary indicating the Israeli military’s pullback inside the territory. An Israeli spokesperson said the delegation would use heavy machinery and vehicles in the search.

Authoritative Confirmation and Media Coverage

This development was corroborated by an source within Israel, who told Hebrew-language media that Hamas representatives had been allowed to enter areas of the region under military authority to look for the bodies of captives, alongside Egyptian and ICRC personnel.

“For this purpose, Hamas members were allowed to pass the designated boundary,” the official was quoted as saying.

Video published by a media outlet seemed to show individuals of a specialized group – part of the group’s military wing tasked with guarding captives – accompanying a Red Cross vehicle in a coastal area close to Rafah, which lies outside Israeli military control.

Difficulties in Finding Hostage Bodies

The search for the bodies of Israeli hostages has become one of the most sensitive matters in the truce reached between the parties. However, the effort to find the remains has proved difficult from the beginning, given the existence of an estimated 60m tonnes of debris across the strip, where, according to health officials, at least ten thousand residents are recorded as missing, trapped under the debris.

Diverging Claims on Body Location

Hamas has claimed it lacks information on the precise whereabouts of all the remains, saying it has been unable to communicate with a number of its teams that had been detaining the captives and were reportedly killed during Israeli bombardments.

However, an Israeli government spokesperson claimed that the organization was aware of the whereabouts of the remains. “If Hamas exerted greater effort, they would be able to retrieve the bodies of our hostages,” the spokesperson said.

US Stance and Disarmament Discussions

While the American leader has acknowledged that some of the remains are difficult to reach, he said that “others they can return now and, for unknown reasons, they are failing to do so.”

“This could be related to the surrender of weapons of Hamas,” he noted.

Washington has said it has obtained guarantees from Hamas that the group will disarm, though no clear timeline has been established. The militant organisation remains reluctant to give up its arms without firm assurances about the fate of its members.