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Units from Egypt and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been granted permission to search for the remains of hostages who perished captured during the October 7th incidents, officials in Israel have verified.

The authorities in Israel stated that the teams have been permitted to search past the referred to as "yellow line" in the area under the control of Israeli forces in Gaza.

The group has handed over 15 out of 28 hostages who lost their lives under the first phase of a US-brokered ceasefire deal, which requires it to transfer all remains of captives. The group said it is now working together with Egyptian authorities.

Donald Trump has cautions Hamas to start return the bodies "quickly, or the additional nations participating in this significant peace will intervene".

An Israeli spokesperson indicated the crew from Egypt has been permitted to collaborate with the ICRC to find the bodies, and would use digging equipment and vehicles for the operation past the "yellow line".

The "yellow line" indicates the boundary running along the northern, southern and east of Gaza that Israel withdrew to, as part of the initial phase of the truce agreement.

Previously, Israeli authorities has not approved the access of such teams.

Egypt, along with Qatar and Turkey, is a key signatory of the Trump-brokered Gaza peace plan, which was ratified in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh earlier this month.

The news will be welcomed by relatives, eager to provide a dignified funeral.

The ICRC has already been deeply engaged in the return of hostages.

The organization does not transfer its detainees - alive or deceased - straight to the Israel Defense Forces, but instead to the ICRC, which in turn accompanies them through Gaza and transfers them to the Israeli military.

But the entry of digging crews from Egypt inside the Gaza territory is a recent development.

After more than 24 months of heavy shelling by Israel, the UN calculates that as much as eighty-four percent of the territory has been reduced to rubble.

Hamas claims it is doing its best to recover hostage bodies, but it encounters challenges finding them under debris of buildings bombed out by the Israeli military in the region.

It is now coordinating with the officials in Egypt.

On the weekend, an Israeli government spokesperson said that Hamas was aware of where the remains were.

"If the group made more of an effort, they would be able to retrieve the remains of our hostages," the representative commented.

The former president shared on his social media account on Saturday that measures would be implemented if the bodies of the deceased hostages were not handed back promptly.

"A portion of the bodies are difficult to access, but others they can return at present and, for some reason, they are not. Perhaps it has to do with their demilitarization," he said.

Trump continued: "We will observe what they accomplish over the coming two days. I am watching this with great attention."

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On the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would decide which international troops it would permit as part of a proposed international force in the region to help secure the ceasefire under the former president's initiative.

"We are in control of our security, and we have also stated explicitly regarding international forces that we will decide which units are unacceptable to us, and this is how we operate and will continue to operate," he said talking at the start of a cabinet meeting.

On the end of the week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "a lot of nations" had offered to be involved in the contingent - but added Israel would have to be satisfied with those taking part.

This appeared to be a reference to the Turkish government, amid accounts Israel had vetoed the country's involvement.

It was still uncertain, however, how such a force could be stationed without an agreement with Hamas.

Israel launched a military campaign in the territory in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about twelve hundred people and captured 251 additional persons as hostages.

At least 68,519 have been killed in Israeli attacks in the region from that time, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.