Red Cross Accompanies Militant Group in Search for Bodies of Captives in Gaza Strip

A Red Cross official confirmed that its personnel accompanied members of Hamas into zones of Gaza still under IDF control to support the search for the bodies of Israeli hostages.

Ceasefire Agreements and Captive Remains Handover

Under the US-brokered ceasefire, which began on 10 October, the group is obligated to return the remains of all Israeli hostages as soon as possible. In exchange, the Israeli government has agreed to hand over the remains of 15 Palestinians for every Israeli body returned.

The organization has to date returned the remains of 15 of those taken hostage but zero in the last five days, as a portion of those remains are believed to be in locations past the ceasefire boundary marking Gaza’s ceasefire.

ICRC Role as Impartial Facilitator

“At the request of the involved sides, the Red Cross accompanied a participant in the hostilities as the party looked for the bodies of the deceased individuals beyond the military-established ‘yellow line’,” said a representative for the committee.

The spokesperson added: “Those involved to the conflict established the procedures of the mission and delegated the Red Cross to act as a impartial mediator. The ICRC was not involved in those negotiations.”

The official further clarified: “Our team was did not participate in the physical hunt for the deceased nor does it take part in the physical recovery of remains.”

International Humanitarian Law and Duties

According to international humanitarian law, it is the duty of the parties engaged in a conflict to locate, collect, and retrieve the bodies of the deceased.

US Demand and Local Search Efforts

On Saturday, the US president delivered a two-day ultimatum to the organization. “Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the hostages who died, including American citizens, quickly, or the other countries involved in this significant truce will intervene,” he wrote on his online channel.

As the 48-hour deadline approached, the group, joined by the ICRC, teamed up with Egyptian teams, who were granted permission by Israeli authorities to look for remains past the line marking the withdrawal of troops inside the territory. An Israeli spokesperson said the Egyptian team would use heavy machinery and vehicles in the search.

Authoritative Confirmation and Press Reports

This development was supported by an unnamed Israeli official, who told local press that Hamas representatives had been permitted to access sections of the region under military authority to search for the remains of captives, together with Egyptian and Red Cross teams.

“For this purpose, representatives were allowed to cross the designated boundary,” the official was quoted as stating.

Footage published by a media outlet appeared to show members of a Hamas unit – belonging to the group’s armed faction tasked with guarding captives – accompanying a Red Cross vehicle in a specific location close to Rafah, which lies outside IDF jurisdiction.

Challenges in Locating Hostage Bodies

Efforts to locate for the remains of individuals taken captive has become one of the most sensitive matters in the ceasefire reached between the two sides. However, the effort to find the bodies has proved challenging from the beginning, given the presence of an estimated 60m tonnes of rubble across the strip, where, as per local health authorities, at least 10,000 residents are recorded as unaccounted for, trapped under the rubble.

Diverging Statements on Body Location

Hamas has claimed it lacks information on the exact locations of all the bodies, saying it has been unable to communicate with a number of its teams that had been holding the hostages and were reportedly killed during military strikes.

In contrast, an Israeli government spokesperson asserted that Hamas knew the locations of the bodies. “Should the group made more of an effort, they would be able to retrieve the bodies of our hostages,” the official said.

US Position and Weapons Surrender Talks

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

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

The US administration has said it has obtained guarantees from Hamas that the group will surrender its arms, though no specific schedule has been set. The militant organisation remains reluctant to give up its arms without solid guarantees about the fate of its members.