Red Cross Accompanies Hamas in Recovery for Remains of Captives in Gaza

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stated that its personnel joined Hamas officials into zones of Gaza still under Israeli military control to support the hunt for the remains of Israeli hostages.

Truce Terms and Captive Remains Return

Under the US-brokered ceasefire, which began on October 10, Hamas is obligated to return the bodies of all captives as soon as possible. In exchange, Israel has agreed to hand over 15 Palestinian bodies for every Israeli body returned.

The organization has so far handed back the bodies of fifteen of those held captive but none in the past five days, as some of those remains are believed to be in locations past the ceasefire boundary designating Gaza’s ceasefire.

Red Cross Involvement as Neutral Intermediary

“Upon the appeal of the parties, the Red Cross joined a participant in the hostilities as the party looked for the remains of the deceased beyond the IDF-designated ‘yellow boundary’,” said a spokesperson for the organization.

She added: “Those involved to the conflict determined the procedures of the operation and delegated the ICRC to serve as a neutral intermediary. The ICRC was had no part in those negotiations.”

She further explained: “Our team was not involved in the search for the deceased nor does it engage in the physical recovery of human remains.”

International Legal Standards and Duties

Under international humanitarian law, it is the responsibility of the parties engaged in a hostilities to locate, collect, and retrieve human remains.

American Demand and Regional Search Efforts

Recently, the US president delivered a 48-hour ultimatum to the militant group. “Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, which include American citizens, quickly, or the additional nations participating in this great peace will intervene,” he posted on his online channel.

When the two-day window approached, Hamas, accompanied by the Red Cross, teamed up with teams from Egypt, who were granted permission by Israel to look for remains past the line indicating the withdrawal of troops inside the territory. An Israeli spokesperson said the delegation would use heavy machinery and vehicles in the operation.

Official Verification and Press Coverage

The news was supported by an source within Israel, who told local press that Hamas representatives had been allowed to enter areas of Gaza under Israel Defense Forces (IDF) control to look for the bodies of captives, alongside Egypt’s and Red Cross personnel.

“To achieve this goal, representatives were allowed to pass the designated boundary,” the source was quoted as saying.

Footage released by a media outlet appeared to show individuals of a Hamas unit – part of the group’s military wing tasked with holding captives – escorting a Red Cross vehicle in a specific location close to Rafah, which lies outside IDF jurisdiction.

Difficulties in Locating Captive Remains

Efforts to locate for the bodies of individuals taken captive has become one of the most delicate issues in the truce agreed between the parties. However, the attempt to find the bodies has proved challenging from the outset, given the existence of an estimated enormous amount of rubble across the strip, where, according to local health authorities, at least 10,000 Palestinians are recorded as unaccounted for, buried under the rubble.

Diverging Statements on Remains Whereabouts

The group has claimed it does not know the precise locations of all the remains, saying it has lost contact with a number of its units that had been holding the hostages and were reportedly eliminated during military strikes.

In contrast, an Israeli government spokesperson asserted that Hamas was aware of the locations of the remains. “If Hamas exerted greater effort, they would be able to recover the bodies of our hostages,” the official said.

US Position and Disarmament Discussions

While the US president has acknowledged that a portion of the bodies are difficult to reach, he said that “others they can hand over immediately and, for unknown reasons, they are not.”

“This could be related to the surrender of weapons of the group,” he added.

Washington has said it has obtained guarantees from the organization that the faction will surrender its arms, though no specific schedule has been established. They remains reluctant to give up its arms without solid guarantees about the fate of its members.