The Red Cross has been working with Hamas to locate the bodies of deceased hostages inside the area of Israel's military control in Gaza, Israeli media reported on Sunday, citing Israeli and international sources.
Some of the missing hostage remains may be located behind the Yellow Line Israel withdrew to under the terms of the US-brokered Gaza deal.
Hamas is capable of returning the remains relatively quickly, the same sources said.
The Israeli government authorized Hamas members to enter territory under IDF control to join the Red Cross members, Army Radio said.
The deceased hostages are located in Rafah, Khan Yunis, and Nuseirat, in central Gaza, Hamas told the Red Cross, according to Army Radio. Most of the sites the hostages are said to be located in are beyond the territory of the IDF.
Members of the Red Cross met with Hamas's "Shadow Unit," which is responsible for guarding hostages, to guide them to the location of Israeli remains located in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, in southern Gaza, Hamas-affiliated media outlets reported.
Egyptian teams and equipment have entered Gaza to help locate the remains of slain hostages after the Israeli government provided approval, The Jerusalem Post reported Saturday evening.
US President Donald Trump said in a social media post the same evening that Hamas must do more to return the remains of hostages still held in Gaza.
If they do not, then "the other Countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will take action," he warned.
Difficulty in reaching some remains
"Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now, and, for some reason, they are not. Perhaps it has to do with their disarming, but when I said, “Both sides would be treated fairly,” that only applies if they comply with their obligations," he added.
As of Sunday, 13 deceased hostages remain in Gaza. According to Israeli estimates, just the whereabouts of approximately five remain unknown, according to Ynet.
However, on Thursday, during a meeting at the Kirya military headquarters, Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir and senior Intelligence Directorate officials reportedly told US Vice President JD Vance that Hamas has the ability to return at least ten of the remains, KAN News said.
This is a developing story. Amichai Stein contributed to this report.