Hamas expands search for remains of hostages in Gaza as Egypt joins effort

Hamas has expanded its search for bodies of hostages in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian group said on Sunday, a day after Egypt deployed a team of experts and heavy equipment to help retrieve them.

Under the US-brokered ceasefire, which took effect on Oct.10, Hamas is expected to return remains of all Israeli hostages as soon as possible. Israel has agreed to return 15 bodies of Palestinians for each one.

Hamas has returned the remains of 15 hostages but hasn't handed over any in five days. Israel has returned the bodies of 195 Palestinians, many of them unidentified.

Red Cross and Egyptian teams have been permitted to search for the bodies of deceased hostages beyond the "yellow line" demarcating the Israeli military's pullback in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli government spokesperson said on Sunday.

More complicated steps lie ahead under the ceasefire plan, including the disarming of Hamas and the postwar governance of famine-stricken Gaza, where the UN and partners continue to urge Israel to allow in more humanitarian aid.

International media have been barred from Gaza aside from brief visits with Israel's military, and Israel on Sunday said that hadn't changed.

Hamas' chief in Gaza, Khalil Al Hayya, said the group started searching new areas for bodies of the remaining 13 hostages, according to comments the group shared on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel would determine which foreign forces it would allow as part of a planned international force in Gaza to help secure a fragile ceasefire under US President Donald Trump's plan. It remains unclear whether Arab and other states will be ready to commit troops, in part given the refusal of Hamas to disarm as called for by the plan, while Israel has voiced concerns about the make-up of the force.

Under a US-brokered ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, a coalition of mainly Arab and Muslim powers is expected to deploy troops in the devastated Palestinian territory. But Netanyahu, who opposes regional rival Turkey having a role in the force, said: "We are in control of our security, and we have also made it clear regarding international forces that Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us, and this is how we operate and will continue to operate," Netanyahu said. "This is, of course, acceptable to the United States as well, as its most senior representatives have expressed in recent days," he told a session of his cabinet.

US President Donald Trump warned on Saturday he was "watching very closely” to ensure Hamas returns more bodies in the next 48 hours. "Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now and, for some reason, they are not,” he wrote on social media.

Hamas has repeatedly said efforts to retrieve remains face challenges because of the massive destruction.

An Egyptian team with equipment including an excavator and bulldozers entered Gaza on Saturday as part of mediators' efforts to shore up the ceasefire, two Egyptian officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.

Earlier, Netanyahu defended the military's actions after Israeli forces struck the central Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza late on Saturday, according to Al Awda Hospital, which received the wounded.

Hamas called the strike a "clear violation” of the ceasefire agreement and accused Netanyahu of attempting to sabotage US efforts to end the war.

"Of course, we also thwart dangers as they are being formed, before they are carried out, as we did just yesterday in the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said at the start of his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.

Netanyahu also stressed that Israel remained in charge of its own security, after accusations last week that the Trump administration was dictating terms of Israel's response to security concerns in Gaza. Vice President JD Vance denied any such speculation during his visit.

Rubio said that Israel, the US and the other mediators are sharing information to disrupt any threats, and asserted that it allowed them to identify a possible impending attack last weekend.

Around 200 US troops are working alongside the Israeli military and delegations from other countries at the coordination center, planning the stabilisation and reconstruction of Gaza. The US has said none of its troops will operate on the ground in Gaza.

Agencies