Gaza [Palestine], October 27: Hamas has expanded its search for the remains of 13 captives as Israel relented and allowed teams from Egypt and the Red Cross into Gaza to help find their bodies.
An Israeli government spokesperson said the Red Cross and teams from Egypt are being allowed beyond the ceasefire-set "yellow line" - which is allowing Israel to maintain control of 58 percent of the besieged enclave - to search for the remains of abductees.
Social media footage showed the arrival of Red Cross vehicles after a meeting with Hamas's armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, to guide them to the location of the body of an Israeli captive in southern Rafah.
Heavy vehicles belonging to an Egyptian team have entered the Gaza Strip to assist with efforts to recover the remains of Israeli captives still in Gaza.
The Times of Israel reported that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office approved their entry.
Gaza's Civil Defence teams have been appealing for the heavy machinery [to help with recovery efforts] since the first day of the war. At least 9,000 Palestinians are still trapped under the rubble. The new heavy machinery is going to help retrieve the bodies of Israeli captives.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Israel late Saturday in favour of the return of the 13 dead hostages whose bodies are still in the Gaza Strip.
In Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem and other places, people also protested against the right-wing religious government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Haaretz newspaper reported. The largest rally in the evening took place in the centre of the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv.
The organisers, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, said there were tens of thousands of participants. According to the group, Anat Angrest, the mother of the recently released soldier Matan Angrest spoke about her son's scars.
"His body bears scars of courage, scars that as a mother, I find difficult to look at and to imagine what he went through. He still doesn't tell me everything; he protects me," she explained.
"We will not rest until everyone is back, right down to the last hostage," Anat Angrest stressed. Hamas has so far handed over 15 dead hostages as part of the ceasefire agreement.
Critics accuse Netanyahu and his right-wing government coalition of not taking personal responsibility for the political and military failures during the Hamas attack. According to a recent poll, 52% of Israelis demand that Netanyahu should not stand again in the next elections, while 41% think he should be able to.
US President Donald Trump also stepped up pressure on Hamas to quickly hand over the bodies of the remaining deceased hostages.
"Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly, or the other Countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will take action," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
He added that while some bodies are difficult to reach, others could be returned immediately, yet Hamas has not done so. "Perhaps it has to do with their disarming," Trump said, without elaborating.
He stressed that his promise that both sides would be treated fairly applies only if Hamas fulfils its obligations."Let's see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely," he said.
Source: Qatar Tribune
