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Teams from Egyptian authorities and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been authorized to search for the remains of deceased hostages captured during the October 7th incidents, officials in Israel have verified.

The Israeli government announced that the teams have been allowed to operate past the so-called "demarcation line" in the area under the control of Israeli forces in the Gaza territory.

Hamas has transferred fifteen out of 28 deceased Israeli hostages under the initial stage of a American-mediated truce agreement, which requires it to hand over all hostage bodies. The group said it is now coordinating with Egyptian authorities.

Donald Trump has cautions the organization to begin returning the bodies "promptly, or the additional nations participating in this great peace will intervene".

An Israeli spokesperson indicated the Egyptian team has been authorized to work with the ICRC to find the remains, and would use excavator machines and vehicles for the operation past the "demarcation line".

The "yellow line" indicates the border running along the north, southern and east of the Gaza territory that Israel pulled back to, as part of the first stage of the truce agreement.

Until now, Israeli authorities has not authorized the entry of these crews.

The Egyptian government, along with Qatar and Turkish authorities, is a principal participant of the Trump-brokered Gaza peace plan, which was signed in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh earlier this month.

The development will be welcomed by relatives, eager to give them a dignified funeral.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has already been heavily involved in the repatriation of hostages.

Hamas does not hand over its detainees - alive or deceased - straight to the IDF, but rather to the Red Cross, which in turn accompanies them through Gaza and hands them on to the IDF.

But the entry of Egyptian excavation teams inside the Gaza territory is a recent development.

After more than 24 months of heavy shelling by Israeli forces, the UN estimates that as much as eighty-four percent of the area has been destroyed completely.

The group says it is making every effort to recover hostage bodies, but it encounters challenges finding them under rubble of buildings bombed out by the Israeli military in the region.

It is now coordinating with the officials in Egypt.

On Sunday, an official representative said that Hamas knew where the remains were.

"If Hamas made more of an effort, they would be able to recover the bodies of our captives," the spokesperson commented.

Trump posted on his social media account on the weekend that measures would be implemented if the remains of the hostages who died were not handed back promptly.

"Some of the bodies are difficult to access, but others they can return at present and, for unknown reasons, they are not. Maybe it has to do with their disarming," he said.

Trump added: "Let's see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely."

• Palestinian children losing their lives as they wait for Israeli authorities to enable evacuations
• The US Secretary of State says many countries willing to join the region's security force
• Recent photographs reveal demarcation zone deeper into the territory than expected

On the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the country would decide which foreign forces it would allow as part of a proposed international force in the region to help secure the truce under Trump's plan.

"We are in command of our safety, and we have also stated explicitly regarding foreign troops that Israel will determine which units are not acceptable to us, and this is how we operate and will continue to operate," he declared talking at the beginning of a government session.

On Friday, the American diplomat said "numerous nations" had volunteered to be involved in the contingent - but added Israeli authorities would have to be satisfied with participants.

This appeared to be a reference to the Turkish government, amid reports Israeli officials had vetoed the country's involvement.

It remained unclear, however, how such a force could be deployed without an agreement with Hamas.

Israel initiated a military campaign in the territory in response to the incidents of October 7th, in which Hamas-led gunmen took the lives of about twelve hundred people and took two hundred fifty-one others as captives.

No fewer than 68,519 have been killed in military actions in Gaza from that time, according to the area's Hamas-run health ministry.